


The Vail Between Worlds

by JenLionheart



Series: Adventures of Quinn and Gabriel [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angelic Grace, Angels, Angst, Bonding, Demons, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fantasy, Fights, Fluff, Gabriel Lives, Humor, Magic, Mates, Mythology - Freeform, Pining, Pranks, Resurrection, Romance, Saving the World, Slow Build, Strong Female Characters, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-29 12:49:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6375451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenLionheart/pseuds/JenLionheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Okay, I suck at summaries, but basically it`s a story about powerful beings and other dimensions, a threat to the universe, brave heroes saving the world, true love, destiny, sex, violence, magic and triksters. </p><p>What`s not to love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Crumbling Walls

**Author's Note:**

> I have been very hesitant to post this one. Because this my Baby. My heart and soul..  
> So be kind, people. It`s a work of love.

 

_Most people have heard the theories on separate planes of existence. The consept is widely known in various religious and esoteric teachings. Then there`s those of us who knows  full well that there is in fact several planes, a whole cocktail of diverse dimensions. However, what most of us don`t know, is that there`s sort of an invisible `blanket` that covers each dimension, keeping them separate from each other. This `blanket`, for those who know of it, is referred to as `The Vail Between Worlds`. It has always been there, since the beginning of time. But to everything there is a season, nothing lasts forever._

_The Vail is weakening, and it`s causing dimensions to bleed through to each other. If something isn`t done, and soon, the Vail will shatter completely. And one by one the realms will fall to chaos or complete annihilation..._

 

 

***

 

Deep inside the Luray Caverns, Virginia. In a small passage that the humans haven`t discovered yet, since it is currently cloaked by ancient magic, a very powerful being has made herself another temporary home. She often sought out secluded places such as this, craving the stillness and the peace that came with isolating herself from the outside world. She never stayed in one place for very long though, and after spending three weeks here in blissful silence, she would soon move on.

If anyone could look inside this small camp, they would see a young, beautiful woman. With hair as black as ebony, eyes of sapphire blue, a set of full pink lips and a long slender body that was the envy of many. No one would ever guess that she was any older than 25 at the most. But this beauty had lived many lifetimes, been known by many different names and had seen the world grow and change in ways that few could ever imagine. 

There were no calendars or other means of measuring time available when she was first brought into this world, so there is no way of knowing _exactly_ how old she actually is. If you were to ask her she would guess somewhere around three thousand years. Possibly more. 

As for _what_ and _who_ she is, that is a far more complicated matter. She has been called a Goddess, daughter of war, a witch, an immortal warrior and angel of death..

These days she simply goes by **_Quinn_**.

 

***

 

A being such as Quinn could easily pick up on a shift in reality, though she didn`t exactly realize what it was she was sensing at first.. Only that something had changed, something _big_. She was in the middle of painting an underground river she`d discovered earlier onto a large canvas when she felt it. A tremor that rippled through the air. Whatever _it_ was it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and a sense of dread filled her to the core. It was almost like the earth itself was softly _whimpering_. Something was wrong, terribly wrong..

 

She slowly dropped down to her knees and laid her bare hand on the cold, hard ground beneath her. Her eyes turned a purple shade as they always do when she uses her powers. Cocking her head slightly to the side while reaching out with senses far beyond what any human could ever comprehend. Fractured images soon flooded her mind, along with frightened whispers floating through the ether. The whispers grew in strength, expanded like waves in the water. She closed her eyes and deepened her focus, desperately trying to decipher the messages she was receiving.

 

//Noxa.....Perdito...// _Something was damaged?_

//Murum in contritione lumborum// _The wall is breaking. -What wall?_ She wondered.

//Alienum creaturis// _Strange creatures._ //Cruentis mundi// _Bleeding worlds?_

 

A terrifying series of images started to take shape inside her mind. Of burning lands and eternal darkness. Of a Hell covered in fields of ice and Angels falling from the sky. Screams of horror from every corner of the universe, errupting vulcanos, devastating earthquakes, mutilated beings of all sorts.. She yanks her hand back with a sharp gasp and reins in her senses, feeling lightheaded and frightened..

_What in the name of Creation is going on?_

 

***

 

She needs answers, and she has a strong feeling that time is of great importance. With that in mind she quickly packs a bag, swing it over her shoulder and teleports herself to the surface above the caverns. _The Oracle will know._ She thinks, and hopes she`ll be able to find him fast. She pulls out her phone and types out a brief text to the only hunters of this time that she trusts, the Winchesters..

 

< _Heads up boys. Trouble`s coming. Both eyes open. More info later. -Q- >_

 

 ***

 

 

_**The Oracle**_

 

It had taken her no more than five days to track him down. She found him in a Hindu temple in Chennai, India. He was expecting her of course, he was The Oracle after all. He was sitting in a prayer circle surrounded by several children when she walked in. She dropped her bag by the entrance and approached quietly. The old man looked up at her with a fond smile. «Quinnea» he greeted. «Oracle» she replied politely. They both bowed their heads to each other in a show of mutual respect and then he gestured for her to sit in the centre of the circle facing him, she complied without question. The children looked at her curiously as she crossed her legs beneath her and removed her sunglasses.

«I felt the earth cry and the heavens shudder with fear. For this reason I have come seeking your counsil» she says in the native tongue of Seers such as them. He nods, a solemn expression on his age-worn face. «Oracle, what is happening? Tell me what you have seen» she implores.

He pauses for a moment and sighs deeply before meeting her eyes again. «Do you know of The Vail between worlds?» he asks her patiently. “Of course” she replies steadily before understanding the implication. Her eyes widen as the messages from the ether suddenly starts making sense. She feels a chill crawl down her spine as she voices her thoughts out loud.

«The whispers.. They spoke of bleeding worlds and strange creatures. They said the `wall` is breaking. They were talking about The Vail?» she asks with a slight tremble in her voice. He nods seriously. «But how?» she breathes. At this, the Oracle actually _shrugs_ , a sight she would have found greatly amusing if had happened under different circumstances.

« I cannot answer that. But it is true. The Vail is dissolving, and if it should fall..» he trails off. «Then everything ends» she finishes and closes her eyes in dread.

He takes her hands in his. «Do not despair. All is not yet lost. There is still time» he says gently. She takes a deep steadying breath and raises her head with a determined look. «Tell me what I must do» she says firmly. Power flickering visibly behind her sapphire blue eyes. He smiles. «The world will need your strength and your courage if it is to survive. But you cannot do this alone. You`re going to need help. The kind of which is not easy to acquire» he tells her. She chuckles softly at the challenge. «Nothing is ever easy old friend. Just tell me what I need to know» she says and he nods, satisfied with his chosen champion. «Very well»

 

 

 


	2. The Plan

«An Archangel?!?» Dean bursts out incrediously, making her roll her eyes internally.

Quinn had arrived at the bunker roughly a day after she met with The Oracle, and was currently trying to bring the Winchesters and Castiel up to speed. They weren`t taking the news very well so far. Not that she really expected them to..

«That`s what he said, yes» she replies calmly. The Oracle had told her that to heal the vail she needed the help of a true son of heaven, an Archangel. She knew the Winchesters would have a problem with this, but she also knew that they would recognise the fact that they didn`t have choice. Dean drags a hand over his face and shakes his head. «Well, we don`t exactly have one of those just lying around now do we?» he says sharply.

«I know that, but is there one we could possibly persuade?» she asks, looking at the frowning angel to her right. «Not likely» Castiel says solemnly. «Raphael is dead, so is Gabriel, and Michael and Lucifer are caged in Hell, where they must remain» he tells her. _Damn,_ she thinks, _What am I missing? The Oracle must have seen a way.._

 

«So what then? We`re just screwed?» Sam asks, worry painting his features. She frowns deeply. Two dead, two in Hell. Can`t use dead ones. Unless.. «Not necessarily..» she says thoughtfully.

«Care to share with the rest of the class?» Dean asks when she doesn`t continue.

«How did they die?» she asks them. Castiel visibly tenses and Quinn raises an eyebrow at that reaction. Dean looks confused. «Huh?» She rolls her eyes. «You said two are in the cage and two are dead. How did they die?»

«Well..» Dean begins. «Raphael kinda blew up and Gabe got shanked» he says with a casual shrug. «Shanked?» she turns to Sam who translates. «He got stabbed. By Lucifer»

«Ah» she nods in understanding. «Then his vessel was mostly intact?» she asks.

«Think so, why?» Sam asks curiously. She ignores the question for now and turns to Castiel. «Any chance we could get our hands on it?» she asks urgently.

«I might be able to retrieve it» Castiel replies slowly, studying her expression.

«Okay, seriously, what do you want his corpse for?» Dean asks, crossing his arms.

She bows her head and puts her hands on her hips, taking a deep breath as her mind races.

«I`d like to see it before I answer that. I don`t want to get anyones hopes up in case it turns out I`m wrong» she says, hoping they won`t push the subject any further. Dean throws his hands up and says «Fine. Whatever» Sam just shrugs. She looks to Castiel and he simply nods and says «I`ll see what I can do» and leaves the room.

«What else did The Oracle say?» Sam asks. Her mind replays the last words he spoke to her before she left the temple.

 

// _Only an Archangel can restore the heavens, and you cannot heal The Vail without his help, nor can he without yours. You must become as one or the worlds will fall//_

 

«Quinn?» Sam looks worried.

«Nothing» She says, and gives him a small smile. «He didn`t say anything else»

He doesn`t believe that for a second, but he doesn`t comment.

***

Castiel returns a week later with another angel, Hannah, whom he assures them is a friend. But the real surprise was what they were carrying between them.

A beautiful, golden coffin, with detailed feathers engraved all over.

Sams eyes widened as he greeted the angels at the bunkers entrance.

«You did it» he said incrediously. «We did» Castiel confirmed while giving Hannah a grateful look. Sam stepped aside and they carried the coffin into the main living room of the bunker where they sat it down gently on the large table.

Dean joins them in time to hear Castiel explain how the angels had retrieved Gabriel`s vessel after learning of his last stand against Lucifer, and that it had been safeguarded in Heaven ever since. Castiel hadn`t been able to get anywhere near the body on his own, but luckily Hannah decided to help him and they`d managed to smuggle the coffin out without incident. Hannah left shortly after the briefing to return to Heaven and that way avoid suspicion.

«Where`s Quinn?» Castiel asks. Dean shrugs. «Dunno. She took off about the same time you did. Said she was gonna look for cracks in the wall or something»

«I see» Castiel replies, then closes his eyes and calls for her through the ether.

When he open his eyes again moments later, she appears and smiles at him.

«You were succesful I take it?» she gestures to the coffin. «Yes» he nods.

«Well, let`s take a look then, shall we?» They remove the lid, and she steps closer to look inside. There`s no sign of decay at all, much to the Winchesters` relief, the angels had obviously done something to prevent that. But what draws everyones attention is the absolutely stunned look on Quinn`s face as she`s staring at the empty vessel. «Quinn? You okay?» Dean asks. She nods slowly, frowning deeply. «Are you _sure_ this is Gabriel?» she asks without taking her eyes of the body. Dean peers over her shoulders. «Yup, that`s him allright» he frowns «Why?»

«Because I could have sworn that this is Loki, the Norse God of mischief» she says and finally looks up at the others. The three men exchanges a look. «That`s because it sort of _is_ Loki» Sam says hesitantly.

She looks at him like he`s grown a second head. «What?»

Sam rubs his neck and says «Yeah, when he ran away from Heaven he needed a new identity, so he basically became Loki» Dean clears his throat and adds «He was posing as a Trikster when we first ran into him. Called it witness protection or some crap like that». She cocks an eyebrow.

«You`ve seen him before then?» Castiel enquires. She huffs a breath. «We`ve met» she replies, crossing her arms. «He was an ass» she adds. Dean chuckles.

«So what now?» Sam asks curiously. «Well, now that I`ve seen with my own eyes that his vessel is more or less whole, I thought I`d do a good old fashioned resurrection» she says and smirks at all the jaws dropping at that statement. A loud «WHAT??» comes from the brothers, while Castiel steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder. «You can do this?» he asks, he sounds hopeful.

She smiles gently at him. «It`ll take pretty much everything I`ve got, but yes, I think can pull it off» she states with confidence. He looks at her full of wonder. «But how? His grace was destroyed, and apart from God himself, no one really knows what happens to an angel when they die, or where they go» he says.

 

«Actually, I know exactly where they go. And his grace wasn`t so much destroyed as it was dispersed» she replies calmly. She looks over at the still body and continues.

«When an angel dies it`s grace shatters into a billion pieces, like pulverised glass.

From there it floats through the ether a while before ending up in a place known as The Void. Normally I wouldn`t be able to access it without great effort or a guide, but now with the tears in The Vail, I should be able to pull him through it and remake his grace once back on this side» She sighs deeply and turns towards them.

«It won`t be easy, both me and the vessel must be close enough to touch the wall, and once I do it will try to pull me and everything else _in._ Meaning you`ll have to stay clear while I do this» She says sternly. Dean looks like he`s going to protest but one pointed look from Quinn shuts him up fast. Sam takes a step forward, a determined expression on his face. «He was a dick most of the time, but he died for us, so we owe him. What do you need?» he says firmly.

 

 

 

 


	3. Resurrection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heeee`s baaaaaack ;)

The guys refused to stay behind in the bunker, not that she`d really expected them to, as stubborn as they are. But at least they`d agreed to keep a safe distance while she `worked her mojo` as Dean put it. So roughly twelve hours after revealing her plan, Quinn found herself in a field, kneeling beside the empty vessel and feeling three distinct sets of worried eyes on her back in the distance.

She took a deep, calming breath and focused. «Okay, here we go» she muttered to herself and raised her hand while she forced The Vail to materialise in front of her.

When it did, it immediately pulled at her, but she stood her ground.

The Vail looked like shimmering, liquid glass, and the rift appeared as a shadow in the shape of a lightning bolt. Her hand hovered in front of it until she felt the connection to The Void. She very carefully reached inside, closing her eyes tightly in concentration and with muscles twitching from the strain, she connected with the other dimension and started to call out for Archangel Gabriel.

 

She had been prepared for a lot of things, mostly to have to spend a lot of time and power searching for the grace, and on convincing it to come to her, to trust her.

However, she had not been the slightest bit prepared for what happened instead.

The grace seemed to have shot straight for her like a `Quinn-seeking-missile` the moment it sensed her presence. And at the first touch, she felt why..

Her eyes shot open with surprise as the word reverberated through her entire being. And the grace latched on to her with the urgency of a drowning man.

 _Mate Mate Mate_ it chanted, softly, almost like a whispered prayer.

It wasn`t a claim, but a question. A recognition between to fitting pieces of the same puzzle. She almost dropped `him` from the shock of it. And there was something so naked and raw about it all. She could feel _him_. The loneliness, the yearning, century after century without anyone knowing who he _really_ was, and a pain so profound it nearly broke her heart. _God, so much pain._ No wonder he got so lost.

 

She shook it off, and with new determination she started the process of pulling him through The Vail, effectively ignoring anything other than the task of resurrecting this ancient being. She was a soldier on a mission, and nothing would distract her from her goal. And if her touch was more gentle than it normally was, or her voice softer than ever before, it had _nothing_ what so ever to do with the way his grace called out to her.

***

 

The first thing Gabriel remembers after being pulled through The Vail is a pair of deeply purple eyes with shimmering golden sparks.

Then there were soft lips on his, breathing new life into his fully restored vessel. Gentle hands on his face, and soothing words, softly spoken to coach his awareness, his grace, back onto this plane. His scattered atoms reconnecting and reforming.

His golden eyes snapped open and found hers, their purple glow slowly fading into a softer, but no less brilliant blue. She was very pale, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face and she was breathing heavily. She smiles at him with relief.

«Welcome back, Gabriel» she says breathlessly. He returns the smile briefly before he`s carried off to a dreamless sleep. He doesn`t notice the woman falling to the ground beside him, or the shouts of worry that follow.

 

When he wakes up several hours later, he finds himself in a soft bed with emerald colored sheets, and a slight throbbing in his head. He looks around in confusion and discovers he`s in a rather large bedroom. It`s modestly furnished with an old white chair beside a darkgreen writing desk, a small dresser, a wooden chest with beautiful carvings on it and a darker wooden nightstand with similar carvings to the left of the bed. Panelled walls painted in a warm shade of auburn, white floors and soft lighting illuminating a breathtaking painting of the Himalayan mountains.

A few feet to the right a door slowly opens, and a familar face peeks inside.

«Sam!» Gabriel says cheerfully, though a little hoarse.

«You`re awake» Sam replies and drags the old white chair from the writing desk and sits down beside the bed. «How are you feeling?» he asks.

«Like I`ve slept for a year» Gabriel says while sitting up slowly, limbs still stiff and sore from lack of use. «What happened?» he asks.

«Well, what do you remember?» Sam asks curiously.

«Not much» he admits, pinching the bridge of his nose a little. He sighs.

«I remember ol` Luci getting all `stabby` with me, and my grace exploding all over the place.. Theeeen a whooole lotta nothing until something grabbed me and pulled hard..» He looks up at Sam hesitantly. «Was she real?» he asks quietly.

Sam looks confused for a second before smiling and nodding. «You mean Quinn» he concludes. «Yeah, she`s real. She pulled you out, put you back together again. This is her room, she stays here now and again» Sam explains. Gabriel nods, relieved that he hadn`t started hallucinating at the very least. «And where`s here?» he asks. «Lebanon, Kansas» Sam tells him. «It`s a bunker, a safehouse. Built by a secret society called The Men of Letters. We kinda live here now» he says.

«So you two chuckleheads finally settled down, huh?» Gabriel says with amusement.

«Yeah, I guess we did» Sam says, smiling. They sit in comfortable silence for a moment before Gabriel finally asks «How long was i gone for?»

«About five years» Sam says. He lets out a long whistle. «Mike and Luci?»

«In the cage» Gabriels eyes widen. «Both of them?» he asks incrediously.

«Yeah» Sam nods and starts filling him in on everything that`s happened since the Elysian Fields Hotel. The Archangel was unusually quiet the whole time Sam was talking, apart from the occational gasp, frown and `I see`s.

After Sam`s done bringing him up to speed on the biggest events of the past five years, he leaves Gabriel alone to process all the information.

 

***

 

Sam finds Dean and Castiel in the kitchen. The angel immediately asking «How is he?» Clearly concerned for his brother. Sam grabs himself a beer from the fridge and leans on the counter. «As well as can be expected» he answers before taking a sip from his beer. «It`s gonna take some time for him to adjust» he adds. Castiel nods.

«Is he gonna help with the whole heaven and dimension thing?» Dean asks.

«Dunno, I didn`t bring it up. I mean, the guy just came back from the dead. So I figured we oughta give him a chance to process that, you know» Sam says.

Dean rubs his neck and says «Yeah, sure. But we can`t hold off on that for too long though» Sam sighs. «Yeah, I know. How`s Quinn doing?» he asks.

«She`s resting» Castiel answers. «She used an immense amount of power pulling Gabriel through the rift, not to mention restoring his vessel» he says and tilts his head slightly to the side. «Honestly, I`m surprised it didn`t kill her» he adds.

Sam gives a quiet nod in agreement. They had all thought that she was dying when she collapsed on the ground, violently coughing up blood before going completely limp, and barely breathing. Dean cleared his throat and told Sam that they`d cleaned her up and put her in one of the guestrooms since she`d insisted that _Gabriel_ should have her room while he`s _recovering_. Dean didn`t bother to hide his annoyance with _that_ arrangement. After all, Quinn was their friend and Gabriel was just another dick with wings as far as Dean was concerned, so he couldn`t care less about his _comfort_ , but he respected Quinn`s wishes regardless.

***

 

Gabriel emerges from Quinns room a few hours later and finds Castiel standing in the hallway just outside the door.

«It`s good to see on your feet again, brother» Castiel says genuinly.

«Thanks Cassie, nice to see you too» he says and finds he _actually_ means it.

They walk side by side as Castiel gives him a tour of the bunker while filling him in on current events in heaven. He tells him about the fighting, the different factions, the demon-deals, but he doesn`t tell him about The Vail or why he was resurrected, as per Sam`s request to leave it for now and allow Gabriel a little time to adjust.

After the tour they join the Winchesters in the library where Sam was currently buried in research books and old notes, while Dean was scouring through newsarticles on the laptop, looking for anything `unnatural`.

The hunters looked up as the angels walked in. Sam gives a quick nod in greeting, before diving back into the books.

 

«Hey, welcome back to the land of the living» Dean says with a smirk.

«Thanks Dean-o» Gabriel replies while pulling up chair in front of them.

Castiel takes a seat next to Sam and quietly asks if he`s found anything of use.

Sam shrugs and hands him a few notes that might be relevant, along with a book in some obscure dead language he hopes the angel can translate.

Gabriel throws his feet up on the table and folds his hands behind his head.

«Sooo.. Where`s that godly savior of mine?» he asks, wiggling his foot a little.

«Resting-Hey, get your damn feet off the table!» Dean barks at him.

Gabriel rolls his eyes and sighs loudly, but complies. Tapping his fingers restlessly against the table instead. «What is she anyway? A goddess or a freakishly powerful witch?» he asks, and raises an eyebrow when he sees the looks that are being exchanged between the hunters.

«She`s kinda both» Dean says hesitantly.

«That`s unusual» he says a little intrigued. «Who`s her daddy?» he asks.

«Ares» Sam says.

«God of war Ares? Oh wow» he says incrediously. «And mommy is?» He watches the brothers exchange yet another look, they seem almost nervous.

«Well, that`s kind of complicated» Sam manages to say.

«Why?» Gabriel asks impatiently. Dean leans back in his chair and crosses his arms before saying «Cuz she was a Nephilim» 

«And a witch» Castiel adds helpfully.

Gabriels shocked expression quickly turns into an angry one. «You`ve got to be fucking kidding me?!» he shouts and Dean clenches his jaw.

Castiel stands up slowly and says as calmly as he can «It hardly matters what she is, brother. She`s our friend and an ally that-», Gabriel cuts him off «But a Nephilim?!».

Dean`s had enough and stands up glaring at him. «It`s not like she could choose who her damn folks were! She risked her life to save your sorry ass, and you`re seriously gonna judge her for what? Being born?! You should show her some God damn respect!» he snarls at him.

Gabriel looks down at his hands, then after a few breaths he nods in defeat.

He surprises them all by saying «You`re right.. I`m sorry.. Just surprised me..»

Dean relaxes a little at that, and nods. «Good» he mutters and sits back down.

Sam lets out a breath he didn`t realize he was holding in. Gabriel and Michael had been referred to as `The scourge of the Nephilim` once, and they had all feared what his reaction would be when he found out that he`d been saved by someone descended from the very same species he and his brothers had tried to annihilate.

He might not have all his powers back yet, but he`s still an Archangel, and Sam would rather not have to fight him. With Quinn temporarily out of commission and Castiel running on stolen grace, they wouldn`t have much of a defense if Gabriel turned on them. But so far, so good.

 

« So, how did you guys meet her?» Gabriel asks after a long pause. Sam and Dean shared a look and a quick grin.

«Few years back we were hunting a Wendigo outside a small town. Or what we thought was a Wendigo anyway. Turns out it was something much bigger, and much harder to kill. She saved our asses, man» Dean tells him, a small smile playing on the hunter`s lips at the memory.

«She saved Cas too a few months later. He was getting his ass kicked by a bunch of rogue angels. She showed up, blasted them all back to Heaven» Sam says with a soft laugh. Castiel nods in confirmation and Gabriel raises his eyebrows, he`s impressed.

«Yeah, she said she didn`t like the odds, so she decided to even them out» Dean adds chuckling.

 

 

Later, Gabriel was walking around the library, looking at random books, and Sam noted that once again the Trikster was unusually quiet. _He`s changed,_ Sam thinks, hopefully for the better. He shifts his focus back to his research, he can worry later he decides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Recovery

Quinn had been unconscious for almost a day, and when she woke up it was the middle of the night. She opened her eyes slowly. She felt like she`d been hit _with_ a freight train, _repeatedly_. Her head was pounding and every inch of her body hurt and throbbed.

A wave of nausea hit her with the force of a tsunami, and she had no idea _how_ she made it to the bathroom, but she found herself on her knees with her head practically _in_ the toilet. When she was sure that her body had nothing left to evict, she stood on shaky legs and tried to make it back to the bed, but she barely got a few feet before keeling over and promptly passing out again.

 

Hearing a loud `thump` out in the hall, Dean poked his head out from his room looking for the source of the noise when his eyes settled on the person-shaped heap on the floor at the end of the hallway. «Shit! Quinn?!» He was by her side in seconds, cradling her head in his hands. Her skin was pale white and cold to the touch.

«SAMMY!! I need you!!» he shouted over his shoulder and his brother burst through his bedroom door, looking around bewildered before rushing towards them.

«Dean? What happened? She okay?» Sam asked in a rush, eyes wide and worried.

«Dunno, I just found her like this» Dean said and hauled her into his arms, picking her up and carrying her, bridal-style.

«I`ll get Cas» Sam said and took off running down the the halls in search of the angel.

Dean carried Quinn into her own bedroom, basically kicking the door open as he went, making Gabriel jump out of bed, startled.

«Sorry Princess, but she needs her bed more than you do right now» Dean hissed at him. «No way in Hell I`m putting her back on that piece of concrete passing for a bed in the guestroom» he added as he laid her down gently on the bed and arranged her limbs into a comfortable position before pulling the covers up to her chest.

She was breathing quick, shallow breaths now and twitched a little when he touched her cheek. _Hang on Quinn, just hang on,_ he thought.

«What happened to her?» Gabriel asked a little breathlessly, eyes wide and lost-looking.

Dean glared at him over his shoulder. « _You_ happened, that`s what!» he growled. Gabriel took a step back, running his fingers through his hair and biting his lower lip.

Sam poked his head inside the room briefly before shouting over his shoulder «In here Cas!»

Castiel rushed past him into the room and his eyes widened as he saw how pale and still their friend looked. He quickly pressed two fingers to her forhead and closed his eyes tightly in concentration.

Quinn gasped, her eyes opened briefly before fluttering shut again. Color returned slowly to her cheeks and her breathing turned more even. Castiel retracted his hand and swayed a little on his feet before Dean caught him by his shoulders.

«Whoah dude, you okay?» he asked worriedly.

«I`m fine» Castiel replied tiredly. «She appears to have suffered a small stroke. I`ve healed the damage, she should be fine now» he said.

«A stroke?!» Dean asked in disbelief. «How the Hell does _a God_ get a stroke?!» Dean`s eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline.

«She used nearly all her power when she resurrected Gabriel, Dean. Until she recovers she`s practically human» Castiel explains.

«Are you sure she`ll be allright?» Sam asked. Castiel nods.

«She should be, yes. But she needs to rest» he said and gestured for everyone to leave the room, and the brothers reluctantly complied, but Gabriel didn`t move.

He was staring at her with an almost pained expression. Castiel laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and said «There`s nothing more we can do here, brother». Gabriel met his eyes briefly before looking back at her again. «I`d like to stay with her» he said quietly. Castiel gave him a small smile and nodded in approval before leaving the two alone.

 

Gabriel drags the chair Sam used earlier closer to the bed and sits down, elbows on the armrests, crossing his legs and leaning his head on his right hand.

There he sits, all night, just watching her sleep. Listening to her breathe. _His savior._

 

***

 

 

Quinn wakes again shortly after dawn. Eyes opening slowly. She feels weak and small, but a lot better than the last time she was conscious. She notices movement to her right and finds Gabriel sitting by the bed with a worried look in his eyes.

«Hey» he says sheepishly. She blinks. «Hey» she replies, her voice barely more than a whisper.

«How are you feeling?» he asks and leans forward a little.

«Tired» she croaks, the pauses. «And you?». He smiles and shrugs. «I`m good. I`m alive» he says and takes her hand, squeezing it gently before adding «Thanks to you».

She gives him a weak smile and squeezes back lightly before drifting back to sleep.

 

The third time she wakes, she`s alone in the room. She hears voices coming from the hallway and recognises one of them to be Sam, but she can`t hear the other one clearly enough to identify who it is.

She feels a little stronger now, so she sits up slowly and after a few breaths she swings her legs over the edge of the bed and lets her feet touch the floor gingerly.

She`s a little embaressed to notice that she`s wearing pyjama-pants and a t-shirt, knowing that one of the guys must have cleaned her up and changed her clothes. She groans internally and just sits there for a while before summoning the strength to stand. She`s still a little weak, but at least the pain`s mostly gone.

Her legs are a little unsteady, but they carry her non the less as she makes her way to the door.

 

She walks into the hallway, steadying her steps with her hands on the wall.

At the far end she sees Sam and Gabriel talking, they both look up at the same time and Sam scrambles to her side quickly, giving her an arm to lean on.

«Should you be out of bed?» he asks, causing her to snort weakly.

«Probably not» she croaks, and he chuckles. She can tell he wants to argue with her being up, but that he knows better, as he has previously stated that she`s `just as stubborn as a Winchester`.

Gabriel looks at her, but doesn`t say anything, just gives her a nod and a small smile in greeting before silently following them down the hall to the kitchen. Dean`s at the stove cooking breakfast.

«Look who`s up» Sam announces cheerfully.

Dean looks over his shoulder and flashes a grin at the sight of an exhausted, slightly wobbly, but otherwise fine Quinn.

«Hey sleeping beauty! You hungry?» he says and pulls out a chair for her by the breakfast-table.

«I could eat» she replies as she sits down carefully with a small groan, happy to be off her feet again.

«Good. Feeling better? Nearly gave me a heartattack last night» he says with a look that says `don`t you dare do that again`.

«I`m fine, now would you please focus on the food before you burn down the damn kitchen?» she says sternly, but with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Dean puts up his hands in mock-surrender and says «Yes, mam!» before turning back to the stove, chuckling a little. She shakes her head. Then Sam is crouching beside her and asking if she would like a pillow for her back, and then he`s handing her a glass of water telling her the importance of staying hydrated and she rolls her eyes.

«Oh, would you guys please stop fussing over me?! I`m tired, not dying!» she barks, but there`s obvious amusement in her voice as she shoo`s them away, telling them to «Go do something useful!»

 

While they were having breakfast, the brothers notice that once again Gabriel was being weirdly quiet. He was just staring into his cup, lost in thoughts and sighing.

Dean puts his fork down, loudly, and asks «Seriously dude, what`s up with you?»

Gabriel looks up with confusion. Dean rolls his eyes before continuing.

«Look, I get that you just got back from the dead and all, but this quiet and polite thing that you`ve been doing is really starting to creep me out» he says.

«Why?» Gabriel asks tiredly.

«Cuz that`s not what you were usually like, you know, before you died» Dean says.

«What was he usually like then?» Quinn asks curiously while chewing on a piece of bacon and reaching her cup towards Sam, silently requesting a refill.

Gabriel groans internally, _this oughta be fun,_ he thinks to himself.

And right on cue, Dean says «He was kind of a dick. No offense» the last part directed at the Archangel.

«Non taken» he replies dryly.

«Huh» Quinn says, tapping her fingers on the table. «How did you guys meet anyway?»

They exchange looks, so she continues. «You said he was posing as a Trikster, right? So were you hunting him or something?»

«Something like that» Sam replies while filling her cup with fresh coffee.

«So you tried to kill him?» she concludes.

«Tried, and tried again» Gabriel answers for them with a slight smirk.

She nods. «And I`m guessing you retaliated?» she asks looking at him intently.

«Guilty!» he replies, still smirking.

«Did you guys ever meet when you weren`t trying to kill each other?» she asks.

They all frowned in thought. Sam clears his throat and answers «Once?»

She raises an eyebrow. «And when was that?» she asks slowly.

«That would be the day I died» Gabriel replies.

Quinn creases her forhead and leans back a little. She snorts and shakes her head before stating. «That`s seriously messed up».

Gabriel chuckles, Dean hums in agreement and Sam mutters «Yeah, tell me about it».

There`s a few moments of akward silence before Quinn sets down her cup and looks at Gabriel. «So. You`re probably wondering why we brought you back?»

«Oh, is that the sound of the other shoe dropping?» He asks mockingly.

«Kinda, I guess» she admits.

He crosses his arms and says «Great, so what`s the deal?»

Quinn knows there`s at least a dozen ways she could have broken the it to him gently, but as she looks at him and sees the arrogance in his features, and that cocky grin, she thinks ` _fuck it_ ` and says: «The short version? The Universe is falling apart and I wanna fix it. But I can`t do it alone. The Oracle told me I needed an Archangel to pull it off. You were supposedly the least `douchy` of the four, and the only one with a vessel that hadn`t exploded or been caged in hell. So I raised you from the dead to help me slap a bandaid on the dimensional walls.» She raises an eyebrow with a look that clearly says `any other questions?`.

Sam and Dean are gaping at her like she`s lost her mind, while Gabriel (though surprised) actually looks downright impressed.

«Huh.. Well, allright then. When do we start?» he replies while rubbing his hands together. She smiles, content with his reaction.

«As soon as we`re both powered up again, I guess» she says.

He smirks and snaps his fingers. Suddenly the table`s cleared and the dishes are washed and back in the cupboard. Sam`s surprised, Quinn chuckles and Dean`s pissed.

«Hey, I wasn`t done yet!» he growls. Gabriel just shrugs like `Oh well`.

Dean crosses his arms and pouts. «So your powers are back then?» Sam asks.

«Not all the way yet» he admits. «But getting there».

He turns to Quinn and asks «How about you?». She shrugs, but raises her hand slightly, staring intently at her palm. Her eyes flash purple for a split second and small sparks starts dancing weakly across her hand. She frowns.

«It`s gonna take at least a few days for me to recharge by the looks of it» she says with dismay. He just nods and tries to give her an encouraging smile.

Dean gets up and says «We should get you back to bed. You need more rest».

He walks over to her and helps her up. She mutters «Yeah, yeah, I know» as she leans on him while they walk back to her room, leaving the other two at the table.

Gabriel has that spaced-out look again, and Sam frowns.

«Are you sure you`re okay?» he asks, and it takes a few moments before Gabriel realizes that Sam`s talking to him. «Huh? Oh, yeah, I`m good». Sam raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. Gabriel sighs and hunches his shoulders.

«It`s just a little weird being back s`all». Sam nods. «Yeah, I know the feeling».

He snorts a laugh. «Yeah, I guess you do» he smirks and stands up.

«I`d like to take a walk, if that`s okay?» he asks. Sam blinks. «Uh, yeah, sure. Just...uh..Don`t go too far okay?» he says, and he looks a little worried.

«Don`t worry, Sammy. I`m not gonna skip town, I owe the lady my life after all» he winks at Sam and snaps himself outside.

 

He really has no intention of leaving them, he just needs some air. It`s only been two days since his resurrection, and it still feels like he`s slowly waking up from a deep sleep. _So strange to be back,_ he thinks. To breathe, to feel, to be alive again.

 

***

 

 

When Quinn gets up from her nap, she feels a lot more like her self. Still no powers, but she feels stronger, and her legs are steady beneath her this time as she walks through the halls of the bunker.

She finds the brothers in the library, talking to Castiel who smiles at her as she walks into the room. «Hello Quinn» he greets, voice as gravely as ever.

«Hey Cas. I missed you at breakfast this morning. I wanted to thank you for what you did last night. Sam filled me in on what happened» she says smiling.

«You`re welcome. How are you feeling?» he asks. «Much better» she replies and sits down on the edge of the table, dangling her feet a little.

«I just came back from town, we were in need of some supplies» he informs her.

She nods. «Did you see Gabriel outside?» Sam asks. Castiel tilts his head a little to the side, frowning. «No, I did not. Why?» he replies.

«It`s just, he said he needed some air and it`s been over two hours now and he`s still not back» Sam says carefully.

«You think he bailed on us?» Dean asks.

Sam shrugs, «Don`t know, he said he wouldn`t but...» he trails off. Dean nods.

They all know that the Archangel hasn`t exactly been the most trustworthy in the past, so it would hardly be surprising if he had left them holding the bag.

«He`s not far» Quinn says clearing her throat and studying the floor.

«How do you know?» Dean asks curiously. She shifts uncomfortably.

«I...Um..I can...feel him» she says hesitantly. Dean raises his eyebrows.

«Come again?». She looks up and speaks more firmly this time.

«I think it`s because I touched his grace». Castiel nods in understanding.

«I believe you are correct. You handled his grace directly, that could indeed leave you with a certain connection to him. Do you sense if he`s in any sort of distress?» He asks.

She closes her eyes for a moment and says «No, he`s not in danger. He`s cold though, and....wet?» she says with slight confusion.

He nods, «It`s raining outside» he explains. Dean snorts.

«Is he really walking around in the rain? Why doesn`t he just snap himself inside or something?» he asks. Castiel shrugs.

«This morning you said he was different. How exactly?» Quinn asks.

The brothers exchange a look. «Well, he`s quiet, and sorta spaced-out a lot of the time» Sam tells her.

«He used to be a real douche, cocky as hell» Dean supplies.

She frowns in thought. «I`ll see if I can locate him» Castiel says.

«No, I`ll get him» she says and hops off the table. When she sees the curious looks she`s getting, she adds «I`ll be able to find him faster anyway»

«Right. Cuz you have a `connection` with him» Dean teases, air-quotes and all.

«Shut up» she replies and walks away. Dean laughs.

 

***

 

 

The rain was coming down hard now, as Quinn walked across the road, following that invisible thread connecting her to the Archangel, and she found him easily enough.

Gabriel was standing still in the clearing, face turned up towards the sky, eyes closed and arms extended to the sides. Silently enjoying the rain with a serene expression.

He was completely drenched, the wet fabric of his clothes plastered to his body in a rather flattering way. Raindrops rolling and caressing his skin.

 _Beautiful,_ she thought, and mentally slapped herself for thinking it.

 _This is the Trikster for Heavens sake, get a grip,_ she scolds herself.

As she approached him, she suddenly realized what he was doing, and why he was out here in the rain. To _feel_ , to reconnect with the world, with life.

 _Maybe we`re not so different after all,_ she thinks.

 

«It goes away, you know» she says. Gabriel snaps his eyes open, startled, and looks at her.

«What does?» he asks. She looks away and takes a step closer.

«That feeling.. Of not really being here» she replies and casually puts her hands in her pockets.

Her worn jeans and white shirt are tight and wet against her skin, revealing a firm and toned body underneath. He stares at her, feeling his mouth go dry.

Those unnaturally blue eyes shimmering beneath wet strands of dark hair, locking onto his golden ones.

He supresses a shudder. «How would you know?» he manages to say, silently thanking his Father for being able to keep his voice even.

She gives a small, sad smile. «I spent some time in Hell» she explains and looks away. «I`ll spare you the details» she says and sighs.

«I escaped. And when I got back, things were...different. I was different».

She removes her hands from her pockets and rubs her arms lightly.

«For a while, nothing felt real. It`s was like I was floating, not really connected to anything.. Reality...Life...It didn`t seem solid enough to touch, at first».

She turns to look at him again. «It get`s better» she says, and this time her smile looks genuin and warm.

He gives a small smile in return. «Good to know» he replies.

«Shall we?» she asks and gestures for them to walk back to the bunker.

«Lead the way» he says and follows her.

 _She took one look at me and she knew_ , he thinks to himself.

His smile grows as he realizes that he doesn`t feel quite as lost anymore.

 

 

 

// _And so our edges, worn and rough as they may be, rub together,_

_and we begin to fit. **//**_

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Recharged

During the next few days Gabriel started acting more like his old self, that much was clear with all the times «GABRIEL!!» was being shouted throughout the bunker.

Sams shoes ran away from him everytime he tried to put them on, and Quinn had to admit it was kind of funny to watch Sam Winchester chasing his own shoes with a bat, thinking that he could beat them until they stopped moving. It didn`t work.

Dean found singing pastries in the kitchen, and he was attacked by fluffy bunnies in the garage.

Castiel`s hair turned pink, and his trench coat kept changing sizes, fabrics and colors.

There was a cow in the war-room eating jellybeans.

The library got (temporarily) turned into a disco-room with really bad 80`s music.

Quinn received a visit from a goat while in the shower, it was chewing on the showercurtain. She also kept finding heart-candies everywhere with various sexual innuendoes engraved on them.

And the dungeon was full of dancing chickens with huge afro`s..

 

Dean was currently stomping down the halls, covered in glitter, a bottle of Holy oil clutched tightly in one hand and flicking a zippo lighter in the other, shouting « **GABRIEL YOU SON OF A BITCH!!** »

That`s when the man of the hour all but fell through the door into Quinns room and promptly closed it behind him.

Quinn was sitting crosslegged on the bed, eyes closed in deep meditation. She didn`t flinch at all when he came bursting in. 

She merely sighed and asked calmly «What did you do this time?»

This was becoming a common practice by now, Gabriel taking a prank too far, Dean going postal, and then suddenly she would have an Archangel seeking her protection.

«What makes you think I did anything??» he shot back, feigning offense.

« **GABRIEL!!** » they hear Dean shout while stomping past the door, absolutely livid.

« **I`M GOING TO KILL YOU, OH ASSHAT OF THE LORD!** »

Gabriel winces, and pleads with her. « _Please_ , just a few hours? You know that he could actually kill me right? Do you really want _that_ on your conscience?» he tries.

«I won`t hide you unless you tell me what you did» she says firmly, and he groans.

«Okay, okay! Maaaaaaybe I made a glitterbomb, and just maaaaybe that bomb sorta blew up in Dean`s face..» he says waving his hands about.

She open one eye to glare at him. «Wha-Oh come on! It was HI-LAR-I-OUS!» he states while throwing his hands out.

« **GAAAAAABE!!! SHOW YOURSELF YOU SPINELESS BASTARD!!!** » Dean shouts again.

«I don`t think he sees it that way» she replies dryly and resumes her meditation.

He rolls his eyes. «Gee, Sherlock. Ya think?» he exclaims and plumps down on the bed.

She doesn`t answer, but a smile is tugging at her lips as she removes the glitter from Dean with a thought and immediately hears a «Thanks Quinn!» shouted from the hall.

Gabriel groans loudly and falls back onto the bed, throwing an arm over his head in the most dramatic fashion he could manage.

She shakes her head and chuckles. Finishing her meditation a few minutes later, she gets up and stretches, a small strip of skin becomes visible above her waistband as she does, and Gabriel feels his eyes being pulled to the area like gravity.

When she turns he quickly looks away, and if she noticed, she`s not saying anything.

«I`ve regained most of my powers. I should be good to go by tomorrow» she states.

He props himself up on his elbows and asks «So, where do you wanna start?»

«I was thinking about the same rift I pulled _you_ through» she says. He nods.

«As good a place as any, I guess» he says while picking imaginary lint of the covers.

«In the morning then» she concludes and starts walking towards the door.

«Hey Quinn?» he says and sits up. «Yeah?» she turns with her hand on the doorknob.

«How come we never met before? When I was playing a god, I mean. Cuz I knew most of the gods, but I don`t recall ever running into you» he says curiously.

She snorts. «We did meet actually»

He looks up. «We did? When?» he asks.

«It was the end of the 900`s, after christ I think. You were going by Loki, I was called Freydis» she says.

His eyes widen. «Wait, Freydis? The Shieldmaiden?» he asks surprised. She nods. «The one and only» she says.

«Wow, I think I remember you. Greenland, right?» he asks with a smirk. She nods again and his smirk grows.

«Sooo, did we ever...?» he points between them and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. She snorts a laugh and shakes her head.

«Not even close!» she states and crosses her arms, laughing.

«I mean, come on. Do I strike you as the kind of woman who`d screw the god of mischief?» she says, clearly finding the very idea ludicrous.

There`s a flash of hurt across his features before his trademark smirk is firmly back in place, and he shrugs. «Hey, your loss!» he replies and winks at her before snapping himself away.

He landed in a small park close by and sat down on a bench with a heavy sigh.

He leaned his elbows on his knees and lowered his head.

 _So she`s not attracted to me then,_ he thinks. And that shouldn`t be such a big deal, so why does it feel like someone just punched him in the gut...?

 

***

 

 

Meanwhile, Sam was in the library doing research, combing through every book he could find that had anything even remotely to say about dimensions.

He was hoping to find something that might explain how The Vail got damaged in the first place, but so far he was coming up empty.

«Find anything?» Sam looks up to find Quinn walking over to him.

He shakes his head and rubs his eyes with a frustrated groan.

«I`m taking Gabriel to the first rift in the morning. If The Oracle`s right, which he usually is, we should be able to seal it» she tells him.

He nods. «Anything I can do? Feeling pretty useless here» he says and gestures to the books covering the table.

She smiles softly and says «You`re anything but useless, Sam. But yeah, I could use your help».

He lights up. «Great! What do you need?» His inner nerd is showing.

«Well, we know where two of the rifts are, but there`s gotta be a whole lot more, and we need to find them» she says.

He nods and open his laptop. «Of course. What should I be looking for?» he asks and looks up at her expectantly.

«A rift in The Vail would cause all kinds of weird crap. Time disruption, disappearances, funky weather, abnormal behavior on a massive scale, vortexes, weird creatures. You know, the freaky stuff» she says. He nods.

«Got it» he says, already typing away.

«Dean wanted to have a word with you by the way» Sam tells her without looking away from the screen.

«Okay, where is he?» she asks.

«Uh. Working out some `angel-issues` on the car I think» he says with a shrug.

«He and Cas have a fight again?» she asks curiously.

«Nah, he`s just worried about him. Cas left to help out Hannah, and he doesn`t like it apparently» he says.

She rolls her eyes. «Of course he doesn`t» she says with a sigh, and walks off to find the grumpy Winchester.

 

«You wanted to see me?»

Dean looks up from under the hood of the Impala, he`s basically covered in grease, she chooses not to comment.

«Yeah, I did» he says, grabbing a rag and drying his hands. «I wanted to ask you about Gabriel».

She crosses her arms, and prepares for another argument about the rather eccentric Archangel. «What about him?»

«You think you can trust him to play ball on this? I mean, the dude ran away from Heaven, spent hundreds if not thousands of years as a Trikster, not to mention that he put me and Sammy through hell. He`s not exactly reliable, you know?» he says, and his voice is calm but she can easily hear the anger underneath.

«I don`t know if I can trust him» she says honestly.

«But he did the right thing in the end, and he did die for humanity. That should at least earn him a fair chance, don`t you think? Besides he`s not stupid, he knows what will happen if The Vail falls»

He shoves the rag in his pocket and puts his hands on his hips, sighing deeply.

«I guess. And I`m grateful for what he did, okay? I just... I don`t trust him. And I don`t think you should either» he says, looking at the floor.

 _Ah, so that`s what this is about, he`s worried about me,_ she thinks.

She puts a hand on his shoulder and he quickly lays his hand on top of hers.

«I`ll be fine, Dean. Anyway, if he`s dumb enough to try anything, you know I`ll kick his ass from here to next tuesday» she says with a wry smile.

He chuckles and looks at her fondly. «Yeah, I know you will» he says, patting her hand.

She lets go of him, and gestures to the car «Need any help?» she asks.

«Nah, I`m good. Just keeping my baby in shape» he grins widely.

 _Boys and their toys,_ she thinks and rolls her eyes at him, but she smiles back.

 

***

 

 

When morning comes, Gabriel shows up at the bunker a little early and finds Sam asleep in the library. He smirks.

 _Poor little Sammy, up all night being a nerd,_ he thinks.

He snaps up an air horn and lets it blow away the first decent sleep Sam`s gotten in days. The hunter falls to the floor with a startled yelp and Gabriel snickers.

Sam glares at him. «You`re such a dick!» he growls.

«Sorry Sammich. I just couldn`t resist!» he says with a smirk.

Sam gets up and brushes himself off. «Quinn`s out back, she`s training» Sam says and gestures for him to get the hell out.

Gabriel gives him a mock-salute and snaps himself out back, where he almost immediately drops his jaw.

 

Quinn`s wearing nothing but a grey sports-bra and tight, black shorts, which in itself would be a sight to behold.

But what `s got the Archangel completely captivated is her smooth skin glistening with sweat, muscle toned arms doing some rather impressive maneuvers with beautifully crafted silver blades, and long legs with steel calfs throwing high kicks like he`s never seen before.

It was one thing to know that she could fight, but to actually witness this work of art in front of him was an entirely different matter.

She moves with such skilled precision and grace, that it nearly takes his breath away.

Throwing one blade mid-air and then the other as she touches the ground, she hits both her marks dead centre, her marks being X`s carved into two thin trees several meters away. She straightens her back and rolls her shoulders.

«You`re early» she says without turning around.

«I am?» he manages to say.

«You are» she states as she retrieves her blades.

His eyes roams over her body before settling on scars he never knew she had.

There`s two sets of what looks like claw-marks. One stretches from her right shoulder to the middle of her spine, and the other is splayed across her left side and her hip.

He also notices that she has a black crow tattooed on her left arm, and he remembers it to be the symbol of a True Warrior in certain tribes. _Fitting,_ he thinks.

 

When she turns and catches him staring, he panics a little and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, «I thought gods didn`t get scars?». She blinks.

Her eyes takes on a haunted look before she drops her gaze to the ground, and he`s mentally kicking himself.

«Half god» she corrects, «And that`s usually right. But there are certain types of wounds that even I can`t fully heal» she says calmly while shoving her blades into the duffelbag at her feet before throwing it over her shoulder.

«They`re nasty creatures, Hellhounds» she continues and looks at him.

«But considering that they tore almost all the flesh off my back, I think it`s healed very nicely» she says as she walks past him, towards the bunker.

He closes his eyes for a moment and pinches the bridge of his nose.

 _Gabriel, you`re an idiot,_ he thinks before following her inside.

«I`m sorry» he says quietly, and she stops and turns.

«Don`t worry about it» she says and gives him a weak smile, before walking to her room and shutting the door behind her.

Gabriel waits in the hallway while Quinn changes, and his mind keeps replaying that look in her eyes when he mentioned the scars.

It was obvious that she was still haunted by whatever happened to her in Hell, and he wanted to slam his own head against the wall, repeatedly..

_Oh Father, I`m so damn stupid.._

 

She emerges from her room in a pair of dark jeans, a white shirt and a brown leather jacket, tucking away a knife in one of her sleeves. «You ready?» he asks.

«Yes» she replies, and he puts a hand on her shoulder, flying them to the spot they agreed on.

She immediately starts searching for the rift, eyes glowing purple and hands feeling for the wall. She forces it to materialise, revealing the gaping wound in The Vail, which is approximately eight feet in length. She frowns. It has grown a lot more than she`d expected since the last time she saw it, which was only a week ago.

She turns to Gabriel and reaches out her hand for him, keeping her other hand firmly on the wall.

He takes it and entwines their fingers while placing his other hand on the wall as well, then gives her a nod.

They allow their energies to melt into each other and then turn their attentions to the damaged part of the wall. They let the flow of their combined powers pour into The Vail, effectively sealing the rift.

It`s exhausting, and almost painful, but they manage to pull it off. _The Oracle was right,_ she thinks. She might have been able to seal a single rift on her own, but it would have most certainly killed her.

They both fell to their knees the moment it was done, breathing heavily and pulling back their hands to sever the connection.

«Well, that was....interesting» Gabriel says breathlessly. Quinn chuckles a little.

«That`s one word for it» she replies.

«Was it like that when you pulled me through?» he asks curiously.

She shakes her head, «No, this was a hell of a lot easier» she says and gets to her feet.

«Damn, really?» he says with both eyebrows raised.

He gets up and watches as Quinn waves away the wall with her hand. She turns and says «One down».

He nods. «And do we know how many to go?» he asks.

«Sam`s working on it. I know of one more. I just hope we can get to them all in time.» she says.

«Where`s the other one?» he asks her.

«Tokyo, in an alley» she says with a sigh. He creases his forhead.

«And just how are we gonna pull that off without anybody seeing us?» he wonders.

«That`s where the guys come in handy» she says with a wry smile. He chuckles.

«Right. I forgot that I`m part of a team now» he says.

«You good to go?» she asks, and he nods before grabbing her shoulder and taking off.

They land just outside the bunker, her knees buckle just a little and he catches her by the waist.

«Woah, easy there, you okay?» he asks worried. She leans her hands on his shoulders, and he swallows when he realizes how close they`re standing.

«I`m fine» she says tiredly, and he doesn`t look convinced, she snorts and shakes her head.

«Gabriel, I`ve performed a resurrection while battling the pull of other dimensions, and healed a tear in the fabric of reality, all in less than a week. I think I`ve earned the right to be a little lightheaded» she says with a hint of laughter in her voice.

«Well, when you put it like that..» he says with a smile.

 

***

 

 

After briefing the hunters about the first rift being successfully healed, there were a lot of hopeful smiles and relieved expressions. But they quickly sobered when Quinn asked Sam if he had found anything while they were gone.

«I think I`ve found two more rifts, but there`s something else I think you should take a look at» Sam says and turns the laptop around for her to see.

It`s a police report from Bloomington, Indiana. It states that so far, 7 people have been found dead in the past month alone, their organs removed, no prints, no DNA, no clues other than traces of sulfur found on each site, along with painted symbols around each victim. «Demons» she concludes and sighs heavily.

_That`s the last thing we need._

«Yeah, and get this. It just so happens that most of the bodies were found in a 2 mile radius of the same town we think there`s another rift in» Dean says.

«You think they`re being influensed by it?» she asks. He shrugs.

«Dunno. But I don`t think it`s a coincident that they`re there» he says.

She hums in agreement, and thinks for a moment, tapping her fingers on the table.

«So how do you wanna play this?» Sam asks. They`ve been letting Quinn run point on things related to the rift, since she`s the closest they`ve got to an expert.

«How about this, you guys work the case and find out what you can about the victims and the locations they were found at. Gabriel, you could sniff around and see if you can locate the demons, they`ll probably have a base somewhere in the area. I`ll find the rift, if that`s what it is, and we stay in contact at all times, no heroics» she says that last part with a pointed look to each of them.

«Sound good to me» Dean says and looks at Sam, who nods and says «We should bring Cas in on this too, we don`t know how many demons there are». She nods.

«Allright, make the call, then lets pack up and move out, I`d like to get there sooner rather than later since there`s demons involved» She says. They all agree.

 

Gabriel takes her to the side for a moment with a worried look on his face, and asks quietly «Are you sure you`re up for this?». It never occured to him that it might be a tad offensive thing to ask a 3000 year old soldier.

Her eyes flash purple and the room trembles a little, he takes a step back and gulps.

She smirks. «I`m the daughter of War, angel. I don`t ever back down from a fight»

Dean looks between the two, a little uneasy. «Everything alright?» he asks.

«Yeah, we`re good» she states calmly, and walks away.

He looks at Gabriel with a `the fuck did you do?` expression, and he shrugs helplessly in response.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. By The Grace of Quinn

Passing through Illinois Quinn was sprawled across the backseat of the Impala, trying to read her book while listening to Sam and Dean arguing about Dean`s choice of music, again. She had decided to ride with them instead of teleporting ahead so that she could recharge some before whatever was waiting for them in Indiana.

Castiel was following behind in his car, occationally with Gabriel, who kept snapping in and out on a whim, Quinn swears that angel has ADD or something.

 

They arrive in Bloomington, Indiana early in the morning. The Winchesters check into a motel and unload their stuff before the whole team settle down for breakfast at one of the local diners.

Quinn and Castiel settle for coffee, Sam takes a salat, Dean grabs a burger and Gabriel orders the biggest ice-cream sundae most of them have ever seen..

Sam mutters something about how angels are lucky they can`t get diabetes.

They split up after breakfast. The hunters work the case as fake FBI agents, Quinn takes off with Castiel to search for the possible rift and Gabriel snaps around town looking for signs of demonic activity.

They didn`t sense anything demonic when they arrived in town, which would suggest that they`ve cloaked whatever they`re doing somehow. Not exactly a comforting thought..

 

Quinn and Castiel had searched the town for about two hours when she says «I`m starting to think that maybe the rift is cloaked as well. Possibly at the same location as the demons». Castiel nods. «I`ve been wondering the same thing» he says.

They look around for another half hour and then Castiel asks if he should call Gabriel, since it`s likely they`re searching for the same place, she agrees, and a after a few moments Castiel frowns deeply. «I can`t reach him» he says with concern.

«Maybe he`s found the demons. You wouldn`t be able to connect to him if he`s behind the cloak» she states.

He nods. «Or, he might have been captured» he says.

«He`s an Archangel, Cas. `Heavens most fiercesome weapon` and all that. He`ll be fine» she replies calmly, though she feels a tinge of worry herself.

The brothers call in after visiting the morgue, «Definitely demons» Sam says.

«Any connection between the victims?» Quinn asks.

«Not as far as we can tell, but they all had `et velum` carved into them» he tells her. She pauses. «`et velum`, The Vail. Shit» she replies.

«Yeah, my thoughts exactly. What about you guys? Any luck?» he asks.

«No, not yet. And we`ve lost Gabriel»

«What?? What do you mean you lost him?» he asks. She sighs.

«Cas can`t reach him, and I can`t sense the rift or any demons, so our best guess is that it`s all cloaked, at the same spot even, and Gabriel`s probably there too. But Cas worries that he might have gotten himself in trouble somehow» she replies.

«Can`t you sense him or something? Use that connection thing with his grace?» Sam asks curiously.

«He`s been blocking me for the past few days, so no, I can`t get a fix on him» she says honestly.

«Alright. Meet back at the motel in an hour?»

«Sounds good, see you then» she replies and hangs up, and looks at Castiel, who`s eyes are closed in concentration.

«Anything?» she asks. He shakes his head a few moments later and frowns. _Dammit Gabriel,_ she thinks.

 

Back at the motel, Sam and Dean are showing Quinn the case-files and explaining what they`ve learned so far. Castiel was standing by the window, too worried about his brother to really pay any attention to the case. The victims had been drained of all their blood as well as had their organs removed, that wasn`t in the police-report.

It was looking more and more like a ritual of some kind.

«Do we have any idea what kind of ritual it could be?» Dean asks.

«Too many options» Sam says. Dean pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

«What about the rift? Any thoughts on where it could be» Quinn asks.

 

She was standing in the middle of the room listening to Sam`s theories on possible sites for the rift, when she suddenly falls to her knees, grabbing her chest in pain.

«Quinn?! What`s going on?!» Dean and Sam rushes towards her, but stops dead in their tracks when she snaps her eyes to theirs and they`re glowing purple and gold.

Castiel approaches her slowly. «Quinn, what are you sensing?» he asks carefully.

She groans and her face is contorted in pain when she looks up at him.

«Gabriel» she replies through gritted teeth, and then she disappears.

They`re all staring at the spot where she was just a second ago, then Castiel speaks up; «I can track her, for some reason the cloak doesn`t hide her from me. She`s not that far away».

Dean curses and grabs his keys off the table while Sam`s loading his gun in a hurry.

«Lets go!» Dean says. Castiel nods and then they`re running out the door and down the stairs.

 

***

 

 

As she arrives inside an old abandoned paper factory, she sees Gabriel in a tangle with two demons, one of which has an angel-blade planted in his side.

There are several bodies scattered across the floors, and now she`s been spotted and four other demons that are heading straight for her.

She throws the first one into the wall with the wave of a hand, and raises her other hand to set the second one on fire, before conjuring her silver blades while the last two are circling her.

In the corner of her eye she sees Gabriel put down one of the demons he`s tangled with and concentrating on the last one, the one who has the angel-blade still stuck in the Archangel`s side.

One of the demons lunges for her and she cuts him nearly in half when he does and before the second demon knows what hit him, she has both her blades embedded in his chest and kicks him off with a snarl.

The first demon, the one she threw is getting to his feet when she throws one blade at him that lands in his head and she throws the other one at the demon fighting Gabriel and it pierces through his throat.

Gabriel blinks, then shoves the demon away. He looks down and pulls the angel-blade from his side with a grunt, before stumbling a few steps backwards and sliding down against the wall, clutching his wound.

And as he does the Winchesters and Castiel comes charging in the door with wide eyes.

She turns to them and raises an eyebrow before saying «You`re late».

Then she waves a hand, making the bodies disappear and walks quickly towards the wounded Archangel.

 

Quinn was kneeling beside Gabriel, who was breathing fast and raggedly.

She removed his fingers from the wounds so she could see it properly, and it was bleeding heavy, with hints of grace flowing along the the blood. She puts his hand back, telling him to keep the pressure on it. That`s when she notices that his eyes are glowing bright shades of ice blue and gold.

Castiel reaches for him and Quinn stops him. «No, don`t touch him Cas! His grace is unstable!» she states.

Castiel jerks his hand back and frowns.

«Oh crap, I`m gonna blow» Gabriel manages through gritted teeth.

«What?? What`s going on?» Dean asks.

«His grace was damaged as well as his vessel, this body can`t contain him much longer» Castiel says grimly.

«What does that mean?» Sam asks.

«Think....big....boom...» Gabriel grunts.

The hunters takes a step back and exchanges looks. Quinn places a hand on his cheek, and his eyes snaps to hers.

«I can help, if you`ll let me» she says softly.

His eyes widen as he realises what she`s thinking and he shakes his head wildly.

«No...You`ll....die..» he stutters between harsh breaths.

She rubs her thumb gently across his cheekbone and says «I`ve handled your grace before remember? I can contain it. Besides, it likes me» she says with a small smile.

«It....will...burn you...» he looks pained and scared. His skin is starting to glow as well.

«I promise you, it won`t» she says firmly, then softens her voice again before saying «Please, I need you to trust me, Gabriel»

A tear makes its way down his face. «I...do..» he manages.

 

«Everyone in this room who`s not an angel, either get out or close your eyes, it`s gonna get damn bright in here!» Quinn demands, her eyes never leaving Gabriels, and the hunters scramble towards the door, dragging Cas behind them.

«It`s gonna be alright, angel. Trust me» she whispers. Then she grabs his face with both hands and smashes their mouths together.

 

An almost unbearably bright light illuminates the entire room as the grace pours from his mouth into hers. Quinn felt it flow down her throat in pulses.

It was electrifying. Powerful beyond words, but gentle. Hot, but not burning.

It settled at her core, vibrating, almost purring.

And instead of attacking her, as she knows Gabriel had feared, the grace wrapped around her very soul, in a way that could only be described as _loving_ and _protective._

Her entire body was tingling. Power and grace filling her almost to the point of bursting.

As she slowly comes back to herself she was standing on all fours beside a trembling Gabriel.

«Quinn?....You....okay?..» he struggles to ask.

She raises her head slowly and snaps her eyes open. He gasps.

Her eyes a glowing, not only with purple, but with an icy blue and a bright gold as well, swirling together.

She takes a few deep breaths, and the colors fade into her normal blue ones.

«I`m fine» she says breathlessly.

He lets his head fall back against the wall with a soft `thud`, beyond relieved.

She sits up shakily, and takes his hand to squeeze it reassuringly.

«I told you, it likes me» she states, voice more even now. She turns to Castiel, who`s standing hesistantly in the doorway.

«You can heal him now» she says, and the angel immediately rushes to his brothers`s side, placing a hand over his wound, knitting the flesh together with ease.

«That was very brave of you. How is the grace?» Castiel asks with concern.

«It`s healing» she replies calmly, and looks at Gabriel before continuing. «I`m doing what I can to speed up the process. It should only take a day or so» she says.

He nods, looking at her with wide eyes that currently holds so many emotions in them. Worry, awe, gratitude, and pure amasement, to name a few.

«It`s really not hurting you?» he asks, hoarsely, but sounding stronger.

«No» she looks away and blushes. «It`s actually...It`s not hurting me at all» she says.

 _Why is she blushing?_ He wonders, and asks «What _is_ it doing then?»

She rubs her neck, still not meeting his eyes.

«It`s...It`s kind of. _..Clinging_...to me, for lack of a better term», she looks up in time to see a light pink flush suddenly coloring his cheeks.

«Oh..» he manages.

«Yeah..» she says quietly.

Castiel`s trying very hard not to smile as he watches them look anywhere but at each other.

«Awkwaaaard» Gabriel almost sings.

The Winchesters walks into the room before she can say anything else.

 

«Quinn?!» She turns and sees the worry on their faces, and smiles softly at them.

«I`m good, it worked, we`re all fine» she says and watches them visibly relax.

Dean points a finger at her and says sternly «Don`t do that again!»

She chuckles lightly, and barely gets to her feet before she`s wrapped up in the arms of a six foot four giant.

«Glad you`re okay» Sam says while pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

He lets go of her and then before she gets to take a single step, Dean grabs her and hugs her too, and she can`t help but laugh into his shoulder.

«Aw, aren`t you two just a couple of softies?» she teases.

«Shut up» Dean mutters into her hair, and smiles fondly at her when he lets her go.

«You know, _I`m_ the one who got stabbed, so how come _she_ gets all the love?» Gabriel says, pouting.

«Aw, come here you!» Sam says mockingly and grabs him by the collar of his shirt, hoists him up and plants a big sloppy kiss on his cheek.

«Ew, get off me bigfoot! Help!» he shouts and everyone bursts into laughter.

 

 

***

 

 

Back at the motel, Quinn booked a second room for Gabriel and stayed with him while he slept.

Without his grace he was mostly human, and she refused to leave his side while he was essentially defenseless, he was to exhausted to argue against that, though she could tell he wanted to.

Dean had teased her about being a `mother hen`, but she ignored it.

She sat in a chair by the window watching the sunrise, knees pulled up to her chest and her arms locked loosely around them, smiling to herself as she could hear the grace inside her _sing_.

Maybe sing wasn`t the right word for it though, it was more like a soft hum, a long forgotten lullaby, sweet and warm. It was a strange feeling.

She knew it wouldn`t harm her, couldn`t harm her.

It believed her to be it`s mate after all, _Gabriel`s mate._

She hadn`t told anyone about what she had felt when she resurrected the Archangel.

And she probably never would. She didn`t know much about the mate-selection process between angels, but she figured it had simply recognised her as a potential partner because of her powers and immortality.

 

Gabriel had been awake for while now, just watching her through half open eyes.

At first he`d been a little embarassed about her staying to protect him, an Archangel needing a bodyguard was pretty much unheard of, even if he was mortal at the moment. But right now, he felt almost humbled, which was a pretty new experience for him.

She had saved him, again.

He had been so stupid yesterday. When he found the demons, he thought, `meh, no need to wait on the others, its just a dozen or so, I can take care of that, sure, no problemo`.

Of course, he hadn`t _actually_ performed a mass-smiting in nearly _two thousand years_ , but it`s just like riding a bike, right? Apparently not!

And just when he thought he was done for, she showed up. All fire and fury and _beautiful_ , slicing through demons like it was a game.

Taking his grace into herself, could have killed her.. Should have killed her actually.

But she didn`t even hesitate, and he was in so much pain that he couldn`t see straight.

So when she asked him to trust her, he was helpless to do anything but surrender.

No one has ever done so much for him as she has, and he is determined to pay her back, any way he can.

She turns from the window and looks at him.

«You`re awake» Quinn states.

He looks up. «Yeah. I had the weirdest dream» he says.

«Oh?» she says.

He sits up and frowns. «There were shoelaces and gummiworms», she raises an eyebrow, «and I was drowning in them» he tells her.

She pauses for a second then she bursts into laughter, shaking her head with tears in her eyes.

 _Oh Father, her laugh, no sound in the universe can compete,_ he thinks.

«You know, Gabriel. I don`t think I`ve ever met anyone quite like you before» she says while wiping her eyes, a few chuckles still escaping her. He smiles.

«Well, I`m glad you find my nightmares so amusing» he says, trying not to laugh.

 

***

 

 

He gets out of bed and tells her he`s going to take a shower. When in the bathroom, he closes the door, turns the water on and strips off his clothes.

He stands in front of the mirror for a moment, he points a finger at his reflection and says sternly;

«Don`t do this to yourself Gabriel! Don`t you dare fall for her! Nothing good comes out of it, ever, not for you. You know better».

He sighs and lets his shoulders fall, before walking into the shower.

His mind wanders to the moment before his grace left him, the softness of her lips. Her touch.. He leans his forhead against the showerwall, letting the warm water roll over his back.

The way she moves in a fight, it`s like she`s dancing with the blades, the most elegant of warriors, but calculated and ruthless at the same time.

Yet when she was kneeling beside him, touching his face, there was no trace of battle in her eyes, she was gentle, warm and caring.

 _And he wanted, oh, how he wanted_.

As an Archangel, he could hide his emotions and desires, but as a mortal, everything he`d been feeling since the moment he first saw her was magnified.

He wanted to kiss away the scars on her back, run his fingers through her black hair, make her eyes shine with love and lust, hear her moaning his name...

 _Damn.._ He took himself in hand, achingly hard just from imagining her underneath him, writhing in pleasure..

Or maybe she would be on top? Riding him hard and fast, her perfect breasts bouncing as she moved?  _Oh fuck.._

He bit back moan after moan as he stroked himself, occationally running his thumb across the slit. He was trembling, already so close to the edge.

It was embarassing how worked up he was by the very idea of being inside her. 

He leaned heavily on the wall as he came, the water washing away the evidence..

_Shit, I`m so screwed..._

 

_***_

 

 

There was a knock on the door, Quinn unlocked it with a thought, to lazy to get up from her comfortable position by the window.

Sam comes into the room carrying a brown paperbag and a tray with three cups of coffee.

«Hey. Breakfast!» He says cheerfully and waves the bag at her.

«Hey Sam. Ooh coffee! Give me!» she says with glee.

He chuckles and hands her a cup and a bagel, before sitting down on the edge of the bed. He looks around and gives her a questioning look.

«In the shower» she answers the unspoken question. He nods. «Where`s Dean?» she asks.

«Watching the factory, he took Cas with him» he replies and takes a bite of his bagel.

She takes a bite of her own, with strawberry-jam in it and hums in appreciation.

«So, how are you doing? With the whole grace thing, I mean?» he asks.

«Okay, I guess. It`s a little weird, it sorta sings to me sometimes» she says with a slight shrug. He raises an eyebrow.

«Yeah, I know. I just don`t know how else to explain it» she says.

«Explain what?» Gabriel asks as his walking out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of sweatpants, drying his hair with a towel.

Her eyes follow a drop of water running down his chest and disappearing into a strip of hair right above his.... She forces her gaze up to his and tries not to visibly swallow.

He doesn`t seem to notice, luckily.

«Your grace, it sings, sort of» she manages, keeping her voice remarkably even.

He freezes. «Excuse me?». She looks briefly at Sam before continuing.

«It sings, or hums, or something. It`s kinda soothing actually» she says.

He stares at her for a few seconds. «Huh» He blinks. «That`s...That`s unusual» he says slowly.

Sam turns and looks at him. «Well is it bad unusual, or just you know, uncommon?» he asks.

«Huh? No! It`s nothing bad, it`s just..um...our grace usually only does that for... for fledglings...or for mates» Gabriel stammers out.

 _Oh crap_ , she thinks.

«Maybe it`s because of the Nephilim part of her? Couldn`t it just be, I dunno, confused?» Sam offers, and Quinn could kiss him for it.

«Yeah, that would make sense, wouldn`t it?» she says as calmly as she can manage.

Gabriel looks almost disappointed, but only for a second, then his smirk is back.

«That`s probably it, yeah» he says with a small nod and looks for a shirt in the bag of clothes that the hunters got for him after they left the factory, his own being covered in blood and dirt.

Quinn silently sighs in relief, until of course Sam speaks again.

«So, when can you give it back?» Sam asks, then quickly adds, «How does that work anyway?» He looks genuinely curious.

«By mouth» Gabriel answers smirking and wiggles his eyebrows.

«Seriously?» Sam says with an incredious look.

«Unfortunately» she says as dryly as she can.

Sam clears his throat. «So when you took it from him, you..» he trails off while making gestures with his hand.

«Kissed. You can say the word, Sammy. We`re all adults here» Gabriel teases.

Sam blushes a little. «Right. When will it be healed?» he asks instead.

«I`m guessing by the end of the day. I`ve been feeding it a steady flow of power to speed up the process» she says.

«Just can`t wait to get your lips on me again, can ya?» Gabriel says with a wink. She glares at him, he blows her a kiss and she rolls her eyes.

Sam chuckles a bit. «Regret saving him yet?» Sam teases.

«Frequently» she replies and crosses her arms.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Gabriel was lying on the motelbed watching a spanish soap-opera, while Sam and Quinn where playing chess and talking.

«So you actually lived with the amazons?» Sam asks, intrigued.

«I did more than live with them. I was one» She replies calmly and moves a piece on the board.

«Really? You were an Amazon? For real?» he asks excitedly.

«A queen actually» she says. Sam looks lost for words.

«My name was Orithyia» she adds. His eyes widen comically.

«Wow, I`ve actually heard of her, of you I mean. Holy shit, that`s awesome» he says in a rush.

She just smiles and shakes her head a little.

«Did they really hate men?» he blurts out, and she looks at him with amused surprise.

«Not really. There were tribes that didn`t allow men, and then there were tribes who kept men as slaves. My tribe wasn`t either of them. We were wary of men for obvious reasons, but a lot of us had male lovers, some even had husbands» she tells him.

«Did you?» he asks. She looks away. «Sorry, that was rude, wasn`t it?» he says when she doesn`t answer right away.

«No, it`s okay. I didn`t. I was a widow, when I first came to them. I`ve had lovers since then, of course, but I never married again» she said with a sad smile.

«I`m sorry» Sam says genuinely.

She snorts a little. «It was a very long time ago, Sam» she states. He nods, and moves a piece.

«Who was he? Your husband?» Sam asks carefully.

«His name was Rhesus. He was a thracian king, and a good man. I was called Arganthone at the time, he called me Aggie. We married in secret, since I wasn`t royalty. He never cared about that. He died in Troy, murdered in his sleep of all things. Three months later I gave birth to his son, Thèon» she tells him.

«You had a son?» he asks, surprised.

«Yes. He was beautiful. Sweetest boy you`d ever know. He could read minds, and he could heal. He had a heart of gold, loved animals, and he`d bring home every stray cat, dog, or even a goat if he came across one. And I could never say no to him»

She felt Sam`s hand on hers, and only then did she notice that she was crying. She wiped them away quickly, shaking her head a little.

«Sorry, I guess no matter how much time passes, a mother never forgets her child» she says quietly.

Gabriel had been listening from the bed, pretending not to of course, and felt his heart ache for her, he could see Sam felt the same.

«I`m so sorry» Sam says.

«Me too» she replies somberly.

«Did you ever think about having kids?» she asks, hoping to stear the conversation away from old wounds, Sam picked up and that and complied.

«One time maybe, but having a kid when you`re a hunter isn`t exactly advisable» he says. She nods.

«That`s true. I think you`d be a good dad though» she says.

«Yeah?» he asks.

«Yeah» she smiles.

 

She catches Gabriel staring at her from the bed, but he quickly looks away, she raises an eyebrow and asks;

«So, have you figured out who`s cheating on who yet?» gesturing to the soap-opera.

He chuckles, and starts telling her about the story so far, or at least the parts he actually paid attention to.

 

***

 

 

Gabriel and Quinn spent the rest of the day watching silly soap-opera`s and old black and white movies.

She`d been surprised by how relaxed he was, she had sort of expected him to be climbing the walls after a few hours of being stuck in same room, but he seemed perfectly content.

Everytime she thinks she has him all figured out, he surprises her. She realises that she`s become a lot more fond of the snarky Archangel than she should be.

 

She walked over to the window, and closed the curtains, then she turned around and said «It`s time».

He sat on the bed and looked at her, a little hesitant. «You sure?»

«It`s fully healed now, and it`s _your_ grace, it`s time I give it back» she says as she sits down beside him.

His heart is beating faster now, he nods, and she leans forward and gently brushes her lips against his.

He sighs, and snakes a hand around the back of her neck to pull her closer.

Then the room starts to light up, bright and blinding, as the grace returns to it`s rightful owner.

She feels a little dizzy at the exchange, and he gasps as his eyes lights up in bright blue and gold.

She pulls back slightly, feeling drained, and looks at him with clouded eyes, before slowly falling to the bed, he gets up and lifts her legs onto the bed ever so gently, and tells her to rest. She barely manages a nod, before drifting off into a sleeplike state.

 

He sits at the edge of the bed, stroking her cheek lightly. Now it was _his_ turn to watch over _her._

His lips still tingles from the kiss, and he feels a faint taste of coffee and strawberries, and something purely _Quinn_.

He savoures it, knowing he would probably never taste it again. And for some reason, his grace keeps reaching for her. As if it _too_ longs for her. He tries to shake it off, best not do indulge himself in thoughts of what can never be.

He knows Castiel has been worried about him, so he closes his eyes and reaches for his brother in his mind, to tell him it`s done, and that they`re both fine. It doesn`t take long before he receives a response, one of relief and joy.

 

«Anyone ever tell you that watching people sleep is kinda creepy?» Quinn says without opening her eyes.

He chuckles. «How are you feeling?» he asks.

«Honestly? A little empty. It`s so quiet in here without your grace humming inside» she answer sleepily.

He doesn`t know what to say to that, so he doesn`t say anything at all.

She opens her eyes slowly, and looks at him. «Are _you_ okay?» she asks.

«Yeah. It`s good to be back» he says quietly. She hums, and closes her eyes again.

«I`m gonna sleep a little more now» she almost slurs. He smiles fondly at her.

«I`ll be here» he whispers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	7. Thunder

At the factory the next morning, Castiel shows them what he`s discovered among the rubble. Jars of blood and organs. Some herbs, ancient bones, relics and other `supplies`, but what worried him the most, is a book that can`t be opened.

«Let me see that» Quinn says, Castiel hands it over without question.

She looks at it carefully, then sighs. «I know what this is» she says.

She lays the book down on a table, then pulls a knife from her right boot and cuts into her palm, holding it above the book and letting her blood drip down on it.

The lock on the side snaps open. «It`s a bloodspell. Keeps those without magical knowledge from gaining access to more dangerous spells» she explains while stroking two fingers along the wound, making it heal instantly.

She starts flipping through the pages, frowning, stopping on one page in perticular.

«You`ve gotta be kidding me» she says, more to herself than anything.

«Did you find a recipe for human burrito`s?» Gabriel quips. She gives him a sharp look.

«No. But I found a spell that could possible gain you an invitation to a rather bloody family reunion».

«What??» he says, and walks over to look at the page she`s pointing at, and reads it.

«The cage cannot be opened» Castiel states.

«No, but apparently it _can_ be broken» Gabriel replies grimly.

«Makes sense, if they know what we know. Bust out not only one, but two Archangels. They could fix The Vail» Quinn says calmly, though there`s a bitter edge in her voice.

«Aaaand when that`s done, they can restart the Apocalypse!» Gabriel replies.

«That can`t happen....It just...can`t» They turn around at the sound of Sam`s voice, he`s pale and has a look of horror on his face.

«It won`t» Quinn states firmly. «I won`t let that slippery bastard take _one_ step up here. He blindsided me last time, I won`t make the same mistake again. I`ll take him down even if it kills me» she says darkly and storms out of the room.

«What the Hell was that all about?» Gabriel asks. Sam sighs loudly and rubs his neck.

«Your brother, saw her as a threat, but one he thought he could convert. He pretty much sent a small army after her, they took her down, put a leash on her powers with some sorta spelled collar. Dragged her to the pit. She was down there for two or three years, which in Hell-time would be centuries» Sam tells him.

Gabriel`s eyes widen, and he pales. _The scars,_ he thinks.

 

// _«They`re nasty creatures, Hellhounds» she continues and looks at him._

 _«But considering that they tore almost all the flesh off my back, I think it`s healed very nicely» she says as she walks past him, towards the bunker._ //

 

He feels sick, the things Lucifer would have done to her.. His own brother..

The agony she must have suffered at the hands of those filthy beasts. A lightbulb explodes over their heads, and the room shakes. 

«Gabriel!  _Brother_ , calm yourself!» Castiel pleads, but his voice sounds so far away. 

He can feel the bones in his fingers snap at how hard his fists are clenched. 

Then he hears Quinn`s voice, she`s speaking in Enochian; « _Gabriel, Alar Nanaeel Zorge». (Settle down, friend)_

He calms down immediately, and looks at her with wide and sad eyes, and slightly embarassed at his display.

But she just looks at him with soft eyes before walking to him. She takes his hands and gently unfolds his fingers, he heals them with a thought.

«I wan`t to show you something» she says, and then they`re gone.

 

***

 

They land in an open meadow that stretches out as far as the eye can see.

«Where are we?» he asks, surprised as he doesn`t recognise this place at all.

«We`re in a pocket-dimension that I created for a friend. A friend I would like you to meet» she says, smiling. 

She takes a few steps away from him and whistles a sort of melody that no human could ever accomplish. 

And then he hears a reply in the form of  _wing-beats?_

Before he can ask her about it, he spots the  _friend_ she must have been talking about. 

Hooves hit the ground and races towards them, hooves belonging to a magnificent-looking black stallion, with huge black wings, easily 15-16 feet across when fully stretched, glossy black feathers with silver tips. Gabriel`s jaw drops. 

It comes to a hault just a few feet in front of them, and Quinn walks to it, petting its muzzle and cheek lovingly.

«You have a Pegasus?!» he exclaims with awe. She hums in reply.

«This is Thunder, my oldest and dearest friend. We`ve been through much together, haven`t we, boy?» she says, and Thunder nods in agreement, then he makes a sound that Gabriel wouldn`t have been able to hear if he was human. A sort of whistling vibration in the air. 

«Yes, he is, isn`t he?» she chuckles, and Gabriel realises that they`re having a conversation, that`s what the sound is, Thunder`s  _talking_ to her. 

«What did he say?» he asks curiously.

«He said that you`re awfully short for an Archangel» she says wryly. He gapes at them.

«I`ll have you know that he was perfectly tall for his time!» he says mock-pouting.

Thunder  _snorts_ , and Quinn laughs. 

«How`d you get him anyway?» he asks.

«Oh, I bribed him with apples, of course!» she says with obvious amusement.

Thunder nudges her side gently, and she pulls an apple out of her coat-pocket and feeds it to him while he makes small noises of contentment.

This startles a laugh out of Gabriel. «Well, of course you did! How silly of me!» he says jokingly.

She flashes him a grin over her shoulder, and his breath catches in his throat, helpless to do anything but smile back at her.

She whispers something to Thunder, ducks under his wing and slaps his rear playfully before running away. Thunder jerks around, his wings twitching, then he`s hot on her trail.

 

Gabriel watches them play a game of tag across the meadow, and she looks so happy and full of glee. 

He can`t help thinking that  _she`s never looked more beautiful_ .

And he suddenly understands  _why_ she brought him  _here_ . 

So that he would  _see_ , that despite what his brother did, she`s still standing, she can still feel joy and love. 

That she might be damaged, but she`s not broken, Hell didn`t break her.

Once again, she had taken one look at him and  _known_ what he needed, and given it to him. 

He almost wants to cry, because he realises, that she`s everything he`s  _not._

There`s no way someone like  _her_ could  _ever_ love someone like  _him_ , and for once he`s not going to deny that he wanted her to,  _to love him_ ..

He feels a tear run down his cheek, and wipes it away almost angrily.

_Get a grip for Father`s sake, don`t let her see you like that,_ he thinks.

 

***

 

 

Gabriel`s anger over what Lucifer had done to her came as a shock. 

She knew he cared about her some, but not that he cared  _that_ much. 

She had been just outside the factory, she needed to get some air, and she knew that Gabriel would have questions. Questions that she wasn`t remotely ready to answer. 

That`s when the whole building started to tremble, and she could feel Gabriel`s anger. 

She realised that Sam or Castiel must have told him and she ran back inside. His guard was completely lowered by his anger, and she could see the thoughts he was having. 

The fury for what his brother had done, the shame of having such a brother, but more than that she saw the pain he felt at what she had gone through, and that she had done so much for him despite the fact that he was Lucifer`s brother. 

She could hear Castiel`s pleas, and knew they were falling on deaf ears, so she spoke to him in his own language, to calm him. 

It worked, but he looked so devastated, and so lost. She felt an overwhelming need to soothe him, to show him that she was here and not down there, that she was okay, and so she took him to the only place she ever felt completely free and safe.

 

She had never taken anyone to meet Thunder before, not once in over 600 years, never showed anyone that secret place she had created.

But for some reason, she trusted Gabriel enough to bring him there. And the moment he laid eyes on Thunder, she knew she had done the right thing.

He was so in awe of her Pegasus-companion, that she couldn`t help but feel proud and almost giddy. Thunder had been surprised, to say the least, but he didn`t say anything.

She explained in her mind that he was the Archangel Gabriel, and that he was her friend, and that was all the information Thunder needed aparrently.

She noticed Gabriel wipe away a tear while she was playing with Thunder, and she hoped it was one of relief or joy. His mind was guarded again, so she couldn`t feel what he was feeling or see his thoughts.

 

 

When they came back to the factory, they located the rift and sealed it. 

Then he had just taken off. 

It`s been three days without a word from him, the team`s pretty pissed. She doesn`t really know what to think, and more alarming is that she realises that she actually misses him.. 

Sure he`s loud, cocky and obnoxious. But he`s also sort of funny, smart, and he can be sweet when he wants to be. 

And there`s something in him that he rarely lets show, a kind of childlike innocence, so good, so naked and vulnerable that it nearly breaks her heart. 

She had wanted to dislike him, the  _runaway_ angel, the trikster,  _Loki_ , but she couldn`t.

 

 

 


	8. Rage

They were back at the bunker making plans for the rift in Tokyo, when he popped up again.

He snapped up a rather extravagant lounge chair and plumped down with a margarita in his hand, umbrellas and all. Smirking, like he hadn`t just disappeared for three days with no explanation.

She wanted to set him on fire.

«And where the hell have you been?» Dean barks at him.

«Hawai» he smirks, and slurps on his drink.

 _That`s it!_ She thinks angrily, and throws him out of the chair and across the room.

Then she turns and says, «Guys, we need a minute to _discuss_ things», and she says it in a `get the fuck out, you don`t wanna be here right now` sorta way.

The hunters and Cas scramble to their feet to get away, and she turns back to see a very angry Archangel getting up, with eyes blazing.

 

«What the fuck was that for?!» he shouts.

«You almost got yourself killed by those demons, and I had to save your ass, again! Then you have a fucking meltdown which almost destroyed an _entire_ building, and I stopped you, _only_ to have you run off as soon as the job was done!»

He opens his mouth to reply but she`s not done yet.

«Three days, Gabriel! Three days without a word! We didn`t know if you`d been taken, if you were hurt, or if you had just bailed on us, because you didn`t fucking tell us where you were going! And now you waltz back in here like you fucking own the place!» she screams at him, her eyes shifting to a darker shade of purple than usual.

The room was shaking now, lights flickering, glass shattering around them.

«Oh I`m _sorry_ , I didn`t realise I had a curfew, _mom_ ! I didn`t sign up for this crap! I`m an Archangel, I don`t need to report to some glorified _halfbreed_ or to anyone else! And for the record, I _never_ asked you to save me!» he shoots back.

«I guess I`ll just let you _die_ next time then?! And Archangel or not, you _do_ need to call in, that`s what you do when you`re part of a team! You might have run away from Heaven and from everything that came after that, but I`ll be damned if I let you run away from me!» she growls.

«Don`t you dare think that you know anything about who I am or what I`ve done!» he hisses, though his voice is starting to break.

«Oh please, I already know way more about you than I ever wanted to!» she snarls back.

He looks at her like she just slapped him in the face. But she`s too angry to stop now.

«You`re the most selfish, cocky and infuriating man I`ve ever met! You`re reckless and you have an ego the size of fucking China! Most of the time I just wanna strangle you!» she shouts.

«Then why don`t you?» he asks quietly.

The fire`s gone from his eyes now, and he just looks defeated.

«If you hate me so much, then why do you keep saving me? Why did you come to get me that day in the rain? And why did you bring me to that meadow, to Thunder?» he asks, and he sounds so _broken_.

The room falls silent again, and the purple leaves her eyes. All traces of anger washed away by the pain in his voice.

_He really thinks I hate him?_

She opens her mouth to answer, but he`s allready gone. She feels tears forming in her eyes.

_Oh no, what have I done?_

 

***

 

 

Castiel had been studying the book they recovered from the factory, and now he was running through the bunker trying to find the brothers, he finds them in the War-room looking at maps.

«It was a trap!» he shouts as he runs into the room.

«Woah woah, slow down buddy. What was a trap?» Dean says seriously.

«The demons, the rift, the factory, all of it!» he stutters in a rush.

«How so?» Sam asks.

«The spell, the one to break the cage. It needed blood and some human organs, but the main ingredient is the heart and grace of an Archangel!» he says with urgency.

«Gabriel, they were after him» Dean says slowly. «And now he`s gone»

«The only thing that kept them from getting him last time was Quinn, without her by his side, he`s a much easier target, no matter how powerful he is» Castiel says gravely.

The hunters exchange worried looks. «Can you find him?» Sam asks.

«I can try» he replies, and rushes out.

«Guess that leaves us to work on Quinn then?» Sam asks his brother.

«Looks like it» he says.

 

***

 

 

The first thing Gabriel recognised as he became conscious, was pain, and a lot of it.

He had been so submerged in his own misery and self-loathing that he hadn`t even noticed the darkening skies until the black smoke was practically on top of him.

They had come at him from every damn angle, so many of them, not just demons, but hellhounds too.

And so here he was, hanging by his chained and bloody wrists, collared, shackled, beaten bloody and with a large ring of Holy fire surrounding him.

The sigils on his restraints bound his grace, leaving him powerless.

His blood had formed a small pool around his feet, he had cuts from angelblades, broken ribs, broken leg, broken collarbone, a dislocated shoulder, a fractured eyesocket and several gashes from Satan`s poodles.

Everything hurt, even the tiniest movements brought on white hot surges of pain.

And yet, all he could think was;

_she not gonna save me this time, I made sure of that didn`t I.._

 

_***_

 

 

When Castiel returned he had a grave look on his face.

«They have him. The ritual and the spell is to be performed in two days» he states grimly.

«Dammit!» Dean yells and kicks a chair across the room.

«Do we know where?» Sam asks.

«Hannah`s working on getting a location» he says, then he asks hesitantly, «Any luck with Quinn?».

The looks they exchanged answers that question.

She had left yesterday after that earthquake of a fight she`d had with Gabriel. And she wasn`t answering any calls.

Castiel couldn`t track her this time either, she was blocking him.

They sat in silence for hours, just waiting. Then Hannah suddenly appears.

Castiel jumps to his feet. «You found him?» She nods.

«Where?» Dean asks.

«Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He`s being kept in an empty storagefacility» she replies.

«Seriously? What is it with demons and creepy big buildings?» Dean asks, and when the angels both open their mouths to reply, Dean quickly cuts them off with an exasperated «It was rhetorical guys».

_***_

 

 

Quinn had spent two whole days alone with Thunder, it had been a long time since she`d done that.

She just needed to get away for a little while. She knew she had to go back fairly quickly, The Vail was still failing, and she had to find Gabriel and make things right again somehow, so they could at least work together.

The Winchesters were probably pissed, or worried, or both. So after a full day away, she figured that was all the time she could allow herself to wallow.

The moment she crossed over to earths dimension again she was hit by a shitstorm of sensations. Pain, fear, sorrow, worry, anger. And it was coming from all over the place. Gabriel, Dean, Castiel, Sam.. What the hell?

She appeared in the bunker, but there was no one there. She frowned. That`s weird.

Then she found a note, it had an adress scribled on it, along with three words that would forever haunt her.

_/ **They got Gabriel /** _

 

 *******

 

 

The next few hours are kind of a blur. She became something that could only be described as a monsterous force of _pure fury._

There was no white, or purple in her eyes at this point, they were _blazing_ with red, dark, _liquid_ _fire_.

To the gods it had been known as _The Blood-rage_.

Extremely rare, so much so that most thought it a myth.

It left no room for mercy, nor kindness, only an insatiable lust for blood and pain.

The most destructive and powerful force in the universe.

Ares would have been proud..

 

The building had been surrounded by demons, hellhounds and other creatures of the dark. It should have been impossible to penetrate. It had been a suicide run, and the Winchesters and Castiel had known that. But they also knew they had to try.

Because if the ritual was completed, and the spell was done, it would be the end anyway.

They fought valiantly, but didn`t stand a chance.

Bound and beaten bloody, they were brought before the demon in charge, called Andras, the great Marquis of Hell.

«Pathetic» he hisses softly as he looks them over.

«The great _Winchesters_ and their _fallen_ angel». The words slither over his tounge like steamed venom.

«I had expected more from such.... _celebrities_ » he says with a disgusting grin.

«Bite me!» Dean spits at the demon, who chuckles darkly.

«Oh, such fire, I just might» he says, licking his lips.

«It was truly foolish of you to come here. You would have needed an _army_ to free your _precious_ Archangel» he says with a low growl.

Then the lights flicker, and the ground begins to shake, the very air vibrates..

And as the demon`s smug expression starts to shift to nervousness, Dean laughs. A loud and obscene laughter.

«What is so funny?!» the demon growls.

Dean laughs louder, then says «We don`t need an army, dude. Not when there`s a seriously pissed off _war-goddess_ banging on your door!» he grins widely.

Andras looks confused and maybe even scared, so Dean adds; «You kidnapped her _boyfriend_ , jackass!» he laughs again.

They hear glass breaking, walls cracking, and lightning flares in the distance, as blood gurgling screams and the sickening sounds of flesh being torn, creeps closer and closer..

«I suggest you run now» Castiel says calmly with a wicked glint in his eyes.

 

 

***

 

 

Gabriel could hear a commotion somewhere outside the doors, the lights in the ceiling buzzed and flickered violently, and there were screams, the kind of screams you only heard in the deepest, darkest corners of hell.

He could barely open his eyes, he was so weak. He would be dead soon, he`d lost too much blood, and without access to his grace he couldn`t heal.

 _Just as well_ , he thought, _I`m not supposed to be_ _alive anyway.._

 

*** 

 

 

Quinn was covered in blood, she might as well have bathed in it, and still the rage didn`t let go. 

She sealed off the building with her mind the moment she passed through the doors, making sure that none of the blackeyed  _vermon_ would be able to smoke out. 

Her blades were dripping red, as she saw her friends huddled on the floor among severed demon- _parts_ , she blinked and their bindings vanished.

She vaguely registered Castiel`s voice whispering to the brothers. «Do not engage her, don`t even  _speak_ , she`s not  _Quinn_ at the moment».

She cocked her head and looked at them strangely, saw the fear in their eyes, then she turned and moved deeper inside the building.

Following the halls, slaughtering hellspawn as she went.

 

She could sense him now, and her heart`s constricted by how faint his light feels, barely a flicker, it only served to fuel her fury.

A demon stepped forward in front of her, wielding not one, but  _two_ angel-blades. 

Tall, dark, nicely dressed. He was different from the others,  _older_ , stronger, and  _somewhat familiar,_ she thought. Then it dawned on her.

«Andras» she purred, pleased to finally face a  _real_ challenge, a worthy adversary.

«Arganthone. Or is it Quinnea now?» he asks with a slight hiss as they circle each other.

She rolls her shoulders and smiles, teeth flashing in bright contrast to the bloodsmears on her skin.

«I`ve had many names, one for each day of the year» she says, then raises her blades in slow, smooth motions and says, «But today, you may call me Death».

She lunges for him, he quickly counters and metal clashes between them. Scissoring his blades, he pins her against the wall and chuckles.

«My, my. Getting sloppy in your old age, dear?» he croons. 

She lets out an inhuman growl and kicks him backwards. 

«Just getting warmed up,  _sweetheart_ » she shoots back. 

He regains his balance, and attacks, she takes him head on. 

Steel meets steel again, and again. There`s electricity humming in the air as they collide in furious strikes. 

In a turn he lands a punch to her jaw, swiftly followed by a kick to the ribs, and an elbow to her neck as she bends, forcing her to kneel. 

He raises a blade and swings it down towards her head,  _hard_ . 

She catches it mid-air with her own blade, and looks up at him with blazing red eyes.

He doesn`t have time to react, or to realise his mistake before she plunges her other blade through his chest.

She grins victoriously at his stunned look of pain, and twists the blade. He screams. Then it`s over..

Andras, the great marquis of Hell, is dead. 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	9. Hope

One last door. She kicks it open, knowing he must be inside, and he is.. But barely alive..

She sucks in a broken gasp.

His arms are bound above his head, which hangs heavy against his ripped and bloody chest.

There`s hardly a surface of skin left unscathed she notices in horror.

She drops her blades and runs to him, breaking the chains and shackles with her bare hands, letting him fall into her arms.

She sinks to the floor, craddling him against her chest, stroking his face gently as tears fall from her eyes. All the red fury in them fades back to blue.

«Open your eyes, baby. Come on, let me see those golden eyes of yours» she whispers shakily.

 

Gabriel becomes vaguely aware of being held. 

His body aches and burns, but the agonizing waves of pain gives way to the  _warmth_ surrounding him, and the  _soft_ touches on his cheek. 

And there`s a voice now, talking to him,  _crying_ . 

It almost sounds like.... _it can`t be_ ....but somehow it  _is_ .... _Quinn_ ..

He opens his eyes slowly, and there she is. 

She`s bloody, dirty, crying, and she`s the most  _beautiful_ thing he`s  _ever_ seen.. 

«You... _came_ ...» he whispers weakly.

« _Of_ _course_ I did... I`ll _always_ come for you..» she whispers back, biting back a sob as she kisses his forhead. 

She touches the collar around his neck, and it shatters. 

He feels his grace pour through him again, free at last, immediately going to work on mending broken bones, knitting together parted flesh and skin, making him gasp in relief.

«Rest now, my angel» she whispers into his hair, and he feels his eyes slide shut.

Comforted by the warmth and kindness of a crying goddess..

 

Castiel had been standing in the doorway, hesitant to enter in case her bloodrage hadn`t dispersed yet.

He was touched by what he saw. How she craddled his wounded brother in her arms, and quietly hummed a soothing sort of lullaby, brushing her fingers through his hair, very lightly.

He carefully took a step forward, and she looked up at him.

He relaxed as he saw her blue eyes.

They were full of sadness, but there was no trace of the rage in them.

«You should take him home» he says gently.

She looks at him for a moment, then she nods, and they`re gone.

 

***

 

Back at the bunker, she gingerly laid Gabriel down on the bathroom floor, putting a towel beneath his head.

Then she filled a bowl with water, and grabbed a wash-cloth.

As gently as she could, she removed the torn pieces of clothing that still clinged to his body, and started cleaning him carefully.

Once she was satisfied that he was clean enough, she conjured forth a pair of sleep pants and a T-shirt onto his still form.

She figured that to an outsider it would probably be a pretty funny sight, her carrying an Archangel into her bed. 

_Godstrength comes in handy sometimes,_ she thinks.

She tucked him in, made sure he was warm and comfortable. 

Then she went back into the bathroom and turned on the shower, looked at herself in the mirror and shuddered. 

She was covered in blood, demon blood, as well as Gabriel`s and probably her own. 

She stripped down and placed herself under the warm spray. 

Looking down she could see the blood and dirt swirl down the drain. She tried to force back the images that was triggered by that, but failed miserably. 

What she did, she didn`t just kill them, she ripped them to pieces, and she had  _enjoyed_ it.. 

_I was a monster...._

 

***

 

He looked so peaceful, buried under the covers, a lock of dark golden hair had fallen across his face, fluttering with every breath. 

She couldn`t help but feel a sense of reversed dejavu, sitting by the bed in the same chair he used when  _she_ was the unconscious one. 

«Looks like we`ve come full circle now, huh?» she says quietly.

The team would be back in a day or so, and she prayed that they wouldn`t kick her out for...doing what she did.

She could still see their shocked faces, the fear in their eyes.

And she didn`t blame them one bit.

The Bloodrage. She never really thought that was anything more than a story.

It terrified her to know that she was capable of that kind of uncontrollable fury.

It had felt like she was indestructible, like her very blood was on fire and filled with the rawest and purest power she`d ever felt.

She sighs deeply. 

_What am I gonna tell him when he wakes up?_ She wonders, and she hopes she can think of something slightly better to say than 

`` _Hey, I`m sorry that I screamed a bunch of crap I didn`t mean at you, and send you running straight into a demon trap. And by the way, I saved you by turning into some kinda freaky rage-monster because apparantly I can do that, who knew? Oh and I`m in love with you. So how about a date?_ ``. 

She groans internally and rubs her temples, trying to remember a time when her life wasn`t so damn complicated..

 

 

She has no idea how much time has passed when Dean knocks on the door, and pokes his head inside.

«Can I come in?».

She looks at him hesitantly and clears her throat.

«Of course» she says, and he walks over, stands by the foot of the bed, gives a nod in Gabriel`s direction and raises an eyebrow.

«He`s okay I think, just unconscious while his grace does it`s thing» she says quietly.

He nods, and runs a hand over his face.

«What happened Quinn? I mean, Cas said something about angry blood or some weird crap like that» he asks, and he actually seems calm about it, which is unusual.

«Bloodrage» she corrects, «and I didn`t think it was a real thing until it happened to me» she sighs.

«I don`t know, Dean. I saw the note Sam left me, and I just lost it. And I think that maybe the term `seeing red` might apply a little bit too literal here» she says tiredly.

He snorts. «Yeah, you were beyond pissed, that`s for sure» he says.

«I was a monster. What I did...» she trails off. 

«What you did,  _saved_ our asses,  _and_ stopped the devil from walking topside again. So I don`t know about you, but I`m counting this one as a win» he says seriously, and gives her a `don`t you argue with me` look. 

«Okay» she says quietly, and stands up rubbing her arms slightly. 

«Will you watch him for a while? I just need some air» she asks.

«Sure» he says, and takes her chair.

«And Dean?»

He turns around.

«Thank you» she says with a shy smile, he nods in reply.

 

***

 

She arrives in the meadow, and Thunder greets her as always.

« _Did you find him? Is he safe?_ » he asks.

«Yes» she replies with a sad smile.

« _Then why are you sad?_ » he asks curiously.

«Because I care for him, and I`m afraid that it makes me dangerous» she says.

« _Why?_ » he asks.

«Because the thought of someone hurting him, made me see red»

 

***

 

When Gabriel wakes, his head is pounding as the room slowly comes into focus.

He sees Dean, of all people, sitting by the bed.

«Hey! You`re alive! _Again_ » Dean says teasingly.

«Yeah, yeah, it`s a miracle, I know» he replies dryly, almost sad.

«She went out for some air» Dean says, answering the question he didn`t ask.

«She was kind of a mess» he adds.

«Why?» Gabriel asks quietly, and a little confused.

He thought she sort of hated him, and then she saved him, again, and she`d cried for him, held him in her arms.

It didn`t make any sense.

«Oh come on, you know why. She went all raging goddess for you. Did a few things she`s not to proud of, and she`s been all worried and `mother hen`-ish» Dean says, and when it becomes clear that he`s about to say more, Gabriel suddenly blurts out;

«She doesn`t love me», and oh well, since he`s already got the whole honesty-ball rolling, «I kinda thought she hated me».

Dean raises an eyebrow.

«Huh? Look, I don`t claim to know a lot about love. But there were at least 40 demons in that building, and a whole mess of nasty beasties to add to that, and she cut them all down like they were _weeds_.. All so she could get to you» he says with a pointed look.

«And she`s saved your ass, how many times now?», Gabriel opens his mouth to speak, but Dean cuts him off with;

«Dude, she showed you her damn horse! We`ve known her for years, and we`ve never seen the damn thing!» he says in a way that spells `duh, how much more proof do you need?`. Then his eyes soften.

«When she showed up at that building, the place shook so bad we thought it was gonna come crashing down on top of us. Man, I`ve  _never_ seen fury like that. And all we did, was leave her a note with an address and  _three little words_ on it» he says with raised eyebrows. 

He rubs his hands together, clears his throat and gets up, «I`m gonna grab a beer» he states and heads for the door, but just before he reaches it, Gabriel speaks up, like Dean knew he would.

«What were the three words?» he asks. 

Dean stops, and tries not to smirk when he turns around and says; 

«They. Got. Gabriel. That`s all it took» he shrugs and walks away. 

And the Archangel feels a small flicker of hope in his chest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	10. The truth

When she returned to the bunker an hour later, she found Castiel in the kitchen, staring at a bagel.

She raised an eyebrow. «What are you doing?» she asked.

He didn`t startle, or move, simply replied; «I`m afraid if I touch it, it will start to sing».

She laughed softly, remembering when Gabriel made the pastries sing.

 

He finally turned around and looked at her with a more serious expression.

«Has it ever happened before? The bloodrage?» he asks carefully. She shakes her head.

«How did you know what it was?» she asked curiously.

«Angels experience a similar state of blind fury when something harms our mate» he explains.

«Really? I didn`t know that» she says, honestly intrigued.

«I acually thought that you might have been Gabriel`s mate, after that incident at the factory» he admitted sheepishly.

She froze. «Castiel, how many mates can angels have?» she asks slowly, feeling her heart beat faster.

«We only have one true mate» he states. 

She pales, eyes wide, her mouth falls open a little, and he frowns.

«Quinn? Are you alright?» he asks concerned.

«Only.... _one_....mate?» she manages to stutter out. His frown deepens. 

«Yes. Quinn, what is it? You look unwell» he says, taking a step closer.

«His grace...»

She suddenly feels lightheaded.

«Who`s grace? Gabriel`s?» he asks. She nods slowly.

«Oh, I see» he says quietly, and gestures for her to sit down, when she doesn`t move he takes her arm gently, she lets herself be lead to the closest chair and seated.

Her mind was spinning. Castiel attempted to read her mind, and quickly found himself slightly dizzy from the emotional rollercoaster he witnessed in her.

After a few moments she calms down a little.

«I`m sorry, Cas. I didn`t mean to freak out like that» she says a little embarassed.

«It`s quite allright, Quinn. So Gabriel`s grace spoke to you?» he asks gently.

«Yeah, it has a few times» she says.

«And I assume from your earlier reaction, that it referred to you as a  _mate_ ?» He asks slowly, and tilts his head slightly. 

She nods and swallows before saying «I thought it just meant that we were equally matched, that I was a possible  _companion_ for him or something like that. I didn`t know...» she trails off. 

«You didn`t know it was acknowledging you as Gabriel`s  _true_ mate» he concludes.

She shakes her head. 

«It all seems so surreal. I mean, I felt  _protective_ of him right away, but I figured that it was because _I_ brought him back» she says honestly, and he hums in understanding. 

«But then...» she begins to say, but sighs and stops.

«Then you felt drawn to him?» he suggests knowingly. She snorts.

«Like a moth to a flame» she says, running her fingers through her hair. He gives a small smile.

«Don`t tell him. I don`t want him to know yet. I should go see him. Right? Yeah, I should.. Thanks for, you know» she rambles a bit and walks out, Castiel`s smile grows bigger.

 

***

 

She meets Dean in the hall. «He`s awake» he says with a wink and doesn`t even slow down as he walks past her. 

She blinks, and takes a breath. 

_You can do this, you`re a grown-ass woman, act like it_ . She thinks to herself, and then knocks lightly on the door before entering. 

He`s lying on his side, propped up on his elbow, and looks up as she walks in. 

«Hey» she says sheepishly. He gives a small wave in return as she takes a seat by the bed. 

«Feeling better?» she asks, not really knowing what else to say yet.

«Yeah, a little tired, but good» he says. She smiles and nods.

«Thank you.. For, you know, saving me..  _Again_ » he says, to the mattress apparantly. 

«You`re welcome» she replies, not looking anywhere in particular.

_Then there`s the akward silence they had both dreaded. Great._

«I`m sorry. For being a dick. And for running away. Cuz you were right, that`s what I was doing, it`s what I _do_ » he says so quietly that it was almost just a whisper. 

«I don`t hate you» she blurts out, and he cocks an eyebrow at her. 

«You should know that. And don`t apologize to me, I was a total bitch to you. I didn`t even mean  _half_ the things I said, I was just worried...and kinda  _pissed_ » she says. 

He snorts at that last part, «Yeah, I got that» he says lightly. She chuckles a little. 

«So, are we okay?» he asks, and there`s a tinge of something she can`t quite place in his voice, something naked and almost afraid.

«Yeah, we`re okay» she says in the most reassuring tone she can manage.

He gives a genuin halfsmile at that, and simply says; «Good».

 

***

 

The next few weeks went by smoothly.

They didn`t talk about what had happened, nor did any of them mention anything related to how they felt about each other, both to afraid of what would happen if they did.

They repaired four more rifts, and even managed to get in a few regular hunts.

Gabriel never left Quinn`s side for long, both perfectly content to just be spending time together as friends.

He told her stories from his days with the pagans, and she told him about the Amazons and some of the native american tribes she had lived with.

She even showed him some of her paintings, including a portrait of her son, Thèon.

He flew them to Paris to watch the sunset from one of his favourite spots, and she convinced Thunder to let Gabriel ride him, which turned the Archangel into a kid at the candystore.

Things were good.

 

***

Currently, Gabriel was pacing in the library.

Quinn and the Winchesters had left to deal with a demon threat a couple of towns over.

Gabriel wasn`t happy about being left behind, in fact he`d been pretty pissed about it, but Quinn wasn`t taking any chances when there was demons involved.

They took him once, they could do it again, and there was more at stake than his pride if they did.

Which is why he reluctantly agreed to stay in the bunker.

But they were hours overdue now, and he was getting worried.

Castiel was sitting by the table reading a book, or trying to, he found it difficult to concentrate while his brother was pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

Finally he sighs, and puts down his book. «Brother, I know you are worried, but would you please sit down? I am sure they will return soon» he says a little exasperated.

Gabriel stops for a second and glares at him, then paces back and forth a few more times before grudgingly plumping down on a chair with his arms crossed.

 

When the Winchesters burst through the doors an hour later, they were carrying an unconscious and bleeding Quinn between them.

«Guys, need a little help here!» Dean shouts, and both angels jump to their feet, all color draining from Gabriel`s face as they laid her down on top of the table.

There`s some makeshift bandages wrapped around her waist, and they`re soaked through with blood.

«What the hell happened?!» Gabriel barks at them as he carefully unfolds the bandages to have a look at the damage.

«It was a Goddamn ambush! That`s what happened!» Dean snaps back.

Pulling back the last layer of fabric he sees that it`s a stabwound and he frowns.

«Why isn`t she healing?» he asks confused. 

«She`s part Nephilim, remember? Angel-blades can kill her, and they just happened to have one!» Dean growls in frustration and worry. 

Gabriel just nods, and places his hand on the wound, letting his grace flow through the touch and heal the torn flesh. 

That`s when he  _felt it_ .

His grace soared at the close proximity to her soul and started singing; 

_Mate. True Mate. Love. Cherish. Protect. Mate._

He jerks his hand away and stumbles backwards, eyes wide and mouth open. 

«What is it?» Sam asks worriedly. Castiel studies his brother for a moment and sighs. 

«I believe Gabriel has learned that Quinn is his True Mate» he states calmly. 

Gabriel eyes snaps to him. «You knew?» he asks with disbelief.

Castiel looks guilty when he replies; «She asked me not to tell you. I`m sorry».

 

***

 

Gabriel was standing outside in the rain, and he couldn`t help but think about the last time he stood here.

It had been raining then too, and it was the first time in thousands of years that he had felt like someone truly saw him, the real him.

And now he understood why. She was his True Mate.

She had probably been able to read him all along.

But he couldn`t read her, the godsblood in her veins prevented that.

She hadn`t wanted him to know.  _Why?_ He wondered, though he thought he already knew the answer. 

_Cuz she didn`t want you to get any ideas, dimwit._

_She`s a warrior, a goddess, she wouldn`t want a coward like you_ .. 

He felt tears falling and blending with the raindrops on his face. 

 

«That`s not the reason» he hears her say behind him.

He turns around, and she`s standing just a few feet away, a pained expression in her eyes as she looks at him.

She continues, «Whatever you`re thinking, that`s not the reason why I didn`t tell you».

She runs a hand through her wet hair, pulling it away from her face.

«I just honestly didn`t know _how_ » she says, and her voice shakes a little now.

He looks at her for a moment, then turns away.

«Gabriel», she starts, and she sounds so broken, «There are things you don`t know. Things I didn`t want you to see».

He feels her hand on his back, and he turns to look at her, his eyes are red and swollen now.

«But I`ll let you see them, if it will help you understand» she says, and places trembling hands on the sides of his head, and then he sees it.

 

Her soul is scarred and tainted with countless wars, with memories of Hell and of grief. 

He sees Lucifer demanding she kneels before him, her refusing, and him ordering her legs broken as punishment. 

How she was chained up and tortured, and Lucifer would watch and occationally whisper in her ear how perfect she was, how she would make a perfect  _Queen_ for him. 

He sees how she spat in the Devil`s face and told him that his touch made her skin crawl, and he ordered her skinned for it. 

He could feel the agony she felt as her skin grew back and they would start all over again. Yet she never yielded, not once. And she never begged. 

The images shifts, and now he sees her craddling a small boy in her arms, bloody and lifeless, and recognises him from her paintings. 

Thèon, her son, was brutally murdered. And he feels her overwhelming guilt for not being there to protect him, and her heartwrenching grief. 

He sees the centuries of hunting and fighting wars. 

Saving Thunder from the gods, riding him into battle. Creating a safe haven for him when he wanted to stop fighting. 

Meeting the Winchesters, feeling she had a purpose again. 

Talking to The Oracle, learning the truth about The Vail, retrieving Gabriel from The Void, and her first encounter with his grace. 

And he sees her bloodrage, the slaughter of the demons who held him captive. 

Her fear of what it says about  _her_ , that she`s a monster, an abomination, and she doesn`t think she  _deserves_ him.

Then suddenly he`s drowning in her emotions, her  _love_ for him, he gasps,  _Oh Father, so much love_ , she could set the world on fire with just a  _tinge_ of it.

 

He opens his eyes and looks at her. There`s tears rolling down her cheeks, eyes puffy and red, her lower lip is quivering.

And he does the only thing he can think of.

He kisses her.

 

The kiss is gentle, soft and sweet.

He cups his hand around the back of her head and pulls her closer, resting his other hand at the small of her back.

She whimpers softly against his mouth and lets her hands fall to his hips.

«Not a monster» he murmers between kisses.

«My love» another kiss,

«My mate» another kiss,

«My everything».

He holds her tight, pressing more kisses to her face and her neck as she melts against him.

He reaches out with his grace and wraps it gently around her, letting her feel how much he loves her, how much he _needs_ her.

She shivers and tightens her arms around his waist.

«I love you» she whispers against his neck, and he feels his grace soar with pure joy.

«I love you too» he whispers back, and he feels her relief at those words.

They stay like that for a long time, clinging to each other, both soaking wet from the rain and neither finding it in them to care..

 

And when they finally do pull away, Quinn smiles at him and says;

«I think you should take us somewhere», he hums,

«And where would you like to go, my love?» he asks softly.

She smirks and whispers in his ear; «Somewhere no one can hear you scream».

He shudders, and launches them into the air before he`s even aware of unfolding his wings.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	11. Coming Home

They appear in a large red room and it`s filled with an obscene amount of lit candles and roses, a fireplace which roars to life the moment they arrive, and a kingsize bed with golden silk sheets and fluffy heart pillows. She raises an eyebrow at him, and he wiggles his in return and smirks.

She chuckles and pulls him in for a kiss, for Gabriel wouldn`t be Gabriel if he wasn`t over the top.

He hums and deepens the kiss, threading his fingers through her still damp hair.

She runs her tongue along his lips and he opens up willingly, moaning as she explores his mouth, leaving him breathless and wanting.

He tastes like rainstorms and cotton candy and she loves it.

When she pulls away, her eyes have turned a fiery dark purple as she rips his shirt open, buttons scattering everywhere, running her fingers over his chest and latching on to his neck with lips and tongue.

He gasps and shudders, his own eyes lighting up with golden ice.

She slips the shirt over his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.

While he simply strokes her spine with two fingers, making her clothes disappear as he does, she smiles into his neck and says ; «Impatient much?»

He grins, «maybe a little» he replies with a lust-coated voice, and cups his hands around her ass and squeezes lightly.

This earns him a small moan and a bite to his shoulder, as she reaches down and unbuttons his pants.

He slips out of both pants and boxers quickly and pulls her into a bruising kiss, she responds just as fiercely.

She jumps up and locks her legs around his waist as he catches her with ease and walks them to the bed, laying her down gently while never breaking the kiss.

He runs his hands up and down her sides, reveling in the feeling of her beneath him, skin against skin, _finally_.

She rolls her hips into him, her wetness rubbing against his rock hard shaft, making a low growl ripple through his chest.

 

«I need you» she whispers against his lips and he shivers.

She reaches down and grasps his impressive cock, earning a punched out moan from the Archangel.

She gives it a few firm strokes before directing it towards her entrance, he stops and stares down at her,

«Don`t you need, you know, a little pre-attention?» he asks hoarsely.

She smiles up at him and says with a teasing tone; «I really, _really_ don`t», and then she pushes her ankles against his lower back, urging him to move forward.

He studies her expression for a second, then nods.

Supporting his weight on his elbows, he slowly enters her.

The wet warmth and tightness that engulfs him, feels _so_ good, _too_ good almost, and has him panting and struggling not to come as soon as he bottoms out.

He closes his eyes and gives himself a few shaky moments to recover.

She wasn`t kidding about being ready for him, she was _so wet_..

When he finally starts to move, he keeps it slow and gentle at first, kissing every part of her that he can reach from this angle.

No matter how ready she feels, he doesn`t want to hurt her.

She arches her back and meets his every thrust, moaning and delighting in the feel of him.

Her _Angel_ , her _mate_ , filling her perfectly, making sparks fly behind her eyes as they move together.

Every touch seems to be igniting fires in her very soul.

He slides his hands beneath her and pulls her flush against him, needing to be as close to her as possible.

A lightbulb explodes on the ceiling, but neither of them notice as they pick up speed, moaning into each other`s mouths.

His grace flows through them both and she can feel how close he is, but also how much he`s holding back, how afraid he is that he might hurt her.

Well, she`s having _none_ of that! She bites down on his neck hard enough to draw blood, clawing at his back roughly.

And that seems to knock any fears he has out of the park because he growls deeply and starts thrusting into her with enough force to rock the entire bed.

She throws her head back dazed and panting, and they lock eyes as he pounds her into the mattress.

She can`t hold back the needy moans that escapes her lips, and she`s so close now, barely hanging on, but she wants him to come with her.

His thrusts become erratic as she tightens around him, and she leans into his ear and whispers; «Let it go, angel, come for me»,

and he does, shouting curses and lighting up the whole room as his grace bursts out of his vessel by the shear force of his orgasm..

She doesn`t stand a chance against the immense wave of pleasure that surges through her from his grace and she tumbles over the edge after him, sending cracks up every wall as her power violently erupts into shockwaves that blasts through the air.

 

***

 

**_//....In Kentucky there was an unexplained electric storm tonight. Scientists and meteorologists from all over the country have been left completely baffled as to the cause of this freak-storm, which has left most of the state without power for several hours now....//_ **

 

***

 

Gabriel is lying on his back, one arm tucked behind his head, the other wrapped around Quinn`s shoulders.

He has a big goofy grin plastered on his face, feeling her head on his chest, smiling to herself as she draws invisible squiggles on his skin.

He glances towards the shattered windows and cocks an eyebrow, and whistles.

«Did I do that or did you?» he asks lightly.

She raises her head a little and follows his gaze, chuckling as she sees the broken glass.

«I have no idea» she says with amusement.

«Oh well» he says and snaps his fingers, instantly fixing the damage.

She snuggles closer and sighs happily. He hums in agreement and kisses her forhead.

«We have to go back in the morning» she mumbles sleepily.

«Do we have to?» he whines.

«Mmhm. Still need to fix The Vail» she replies.

He nods, frowning in thought. «I`ve been thinking about that.. Do you think we could fix the whole damn thing in one fell swoop if we had more healing mojo at our disposal...?» he asks slowly.

She raises her head to rest her chin on his chest, looking up at him curiously.

«And where would we get that kind of juice?» she asks.

He hesitates for a moment, then sighs. «Heaven?» he says quietly.

She raises her eyebrows. «You wanna put the angels into play?» she asks surprised.

He shrugs and looks a little uncertain.

She softens her eyes. «It`s not a _bad_ idea, I mean, if we could get them to work together it might even end the fighting that`s been going on up there» she says carefully.

He sighs, and strokes her cheek, she leans into the touch and hums softly, drawing another smile out of him.

She captures one of his fingers with her lips and sucks on it lightly, her eyes gaining a purple shade as he bites his lip at the sight.

«When did we have go back again?» he asks a little breathlessly. She smirks.

«Not until I`ve had you at least three more times..» she says with a predatory gaze and he growls before flipping her underneath him again and attacking her lips.

 

***

 

 

On returning to the bunker, Quinn and Gabriel found the Winchesters and Castiel packing for a hunt.

When she asked what they were hunting, they told her that they didn`t know, but that something had caused a serious electrical storm in Kentucky and they were going to investigate it.

 _Huh.. We just came from there.._ Quinn thinks.

Gabriel cleared his throat awkwardly and said;

«That was probably us». Quinn turned to her lover and cocked an eyebrow.

«Us? You mean...?» she whispered and hoped he`d catch on to the rest of that sentence.

«Yeah, you were a little loud, honey» he says quietly, but winking at her. She blushes.

«What do you mean it was you?» Dean demands to know.

The couple exchanges looks, and Castiel picks up on the silent conversation between his brother and his mate.

«Oh» Castiel suddenly blurts out, and blushes bright red.

«What?» Dean asks.

Castiel leans towards Dean and says quietly; «I believe that Quinn and Gabriel had sexual intercourse last night».

Dean makes a face. «Okay, what the hell does that have to do with the electrical sto-»

He pauses and his eyes widen. « **OH MY GOD!**!» he states and throws his hands up.

«That`s what caused the storm?! Jesus fucking Christ!» Dean adds before stomping towards the hall, away from them.

« **I did not need to know that!** » he yells from the end of the hall.

Gabriel snickers and Quinn wants the ground to swallow her.

Sam mutters a `Congratulation` and gives them a small awkward smile before following his brother, while Castiel has a huge smile on his face and doesn`t leave until Gabriel gestures for him to give them some privacy.

«We caused an electrical storm?!» Quinn asks as soon as Castiel has left the room.

Gabriel smirks and says «Yep», popping the `p` and wiggling his eyebrows.

She covers her eyes with her hand and groans.

«This isn`t funny, Gabriel. We could have hurt someone» she says exasperated, but she can`t keep a smile from tugging at her lips when she lowers her hand and sees how he almost looks proud, if that shit-eating grin on his face is anything to go by.

«Just, call your brother back so we can talk about your little angel-plan, and wipe that smirk off your face!» she barks at him, though there`s no real bite in it. He chuckles.

 

***

 

Gabriel explained to his brother his thoughts on getting the Angels to help out with The Vail.

Castiel looks mildly intrigued by the idea of giving their siblings a common goal and possibly end the fighting in the process, but unsure about how to proceed.

«Well, is there anyone else up there besides Hannah, that would, at the very least, listen? I know working with someone like me might be a problem for some of them, but there has to be a few that are more open-minded, right?» Quinn asks.

«Alandriel might be persuaded, and perhaps Zephon» Castiel says with a thoughtful expression.

«They are both leaders, if they can be persuaded, their followers will join as well» he adds. Quinn nods.

Gabriel`s a little quiet, and she can feel his hesitation.

«How long has it been?» she asks gently, and he looks up.

«Two thousand years, give or take a century» he replies dryly.

She takes his hand and squeezes it reassuringly.

«You are an Archangel, brother. You will be welcomed as such» Castiel says and Gabriel gives a small sad smile.

«Besides, I will be there with you» he adds, and then the Archangel breathes a silent breath of relief, that at least he wouldn`t be standing alone.

 

***

 

 

As they took flight, Gabriel kept replaying in his mind the conversation he had with his mate last night, letting it give him the courage to see this through.

 

**_I don`t know if I can do this, Quinn.._ **

 

**_Sure you can. This is what you were created for._ **

 

Every corner of Heaven trembled as the Archangel passed through the gates, St Peter offering him a warm smile as he did.

He made sure his golden wings were stretched wide and glowing with his grace, so that there would be no doubt as to who he was.

 

**_What if they reject me? I ran away, remember.._ **

 

**_They won`t. Besides, ever heard of the prodigal son?_ **

 

In passing he noted that The Garden was still as breathtaking as he remembered.

Great green pastures, every tree and plant known to man, acres upon acres of the most beautiful flowers you could imagine.

As fledglings, they had all played there together. Him, michael, lucifer, and raphael.

 

**_I`m not like my brothers. Why would they follow me? I`m not..._ **

 

**_You`re Gabriel, a true son of Heaven. The rest doesn`t matter, this is about something bigger than all of us._ **

 

They landed in a great white hall, with marble floors and golden pillars.

It had once been a place for exchanges of wisdom and knowledge, where God himself had been known to walk among them occationally.

This would be the perfect place for this meeting.

A smaller group of Angels start to gather around him and Castiel.

Some confused, some in awe, and some afraid.

«Gabriel? Is it really you?» asks a blonde woman with hazel eyes, pale skin and freckles.

«It`s really me, Haniel» he replies softly to his sister.

«You`re really here. You`ve come home» she says with a certain amount of relief and happiness.

 

**_And if I fail?_ **

 

**_Then we will find another way, but I don`t think you`ll fail._ **

«Rejoice brothers and sisters. The Messenger has returned» Castiel announces in his true voice.

More start to gather around, and Gabriel thinks he`d be sweating by now if he was human.

He closes his eyes briefly and takes a steadying breath. This is it.

Time to leave the Trikster behind, to be who he was always supposed to be.

 

**_What makes you so sure about this? About me?_ **

 

**_Because I believe in you._ **

**_I`ve seen your heart and held your grace._ **

**_There`s a light in you that`s bright enough to rival the sun._ **

**_And you`re a lot stronger than you think you are._ **

 

«As you can see, I`m alive, and I`ve returned to Heaven to have words with you all. I was resurrected because The Vail between worlds is falling apart, and the hope is that I can restore it. But I can`t do it alone. I need your help» Gabriel states in a firm and serious tone.

 

**_It`s impossible to please everyone, and there will no doubt be someone who`ll try to challenge you, but you must stand your ground, assert yourself as a leader._ **

**_They don`t have to like you, they just have to follow you._ **

 

«And _why_ should we listen to _you_?» Remiel asks as he takes a step forward.

He`s one of the warrior angels. Tall, muscular, dark skin, black hair and an icy stare.

«You left us. You betrayed everything you were by joining the pagans. Your grace is almost as tainted as Lucifer`s» he says with disgust.

Gabriel`s eyes flashed gold and furious as shadow formed above and throughout the great hall in the shape of his wings, huge and threatening.

The sound of thunder in the air. Letting his true voice shine through he replied;

«My grace is still that of an _Archangel_. I have done a lot that I regret, and yes, I did leave. But don`t you _ever_ compare _me_ to _Lucifer_. As for _why_ you should listen, I`ll have to remind you, that the _universe_ is about to come crashing down unless The Vail is healed and so I _strongly_ suggest you pull your head out of your asses and help me do something about it!»

 

**_I wish you could come with me.._ **

 

**_You have my heart, I`ll always be with you._ **

 

«Gabriel is right, we must look past our differences and work together on this. Otherwise we will all perish» Castiel says firmly.

Remiel looks angry, but doesn`t dispute it.

Gabriel asks for all the leaders to come forward and discuss the situation with him.

Four angels step forward; Adriel, Zephon, Alandriel and Remiel.

He tells them about the rifts, about Quinn, and how they`ve healed six of them so far, but that more keep showing up every day and that they fear that it might mean they`re running out of time.

Castiel asks them if they would be willing to follow them to earth and consult with Gabriel`s mate, who was the one to resurrect the Archangel, and who has been working on The Vail since it first started to crumble.

They look surprised to learn that Gabriel has taken a mate, and the fact that she is part Nephilim did not go over very well.

Still, they reluctantly agree to meet with her, but make no promises to assist, yet.

 

 

 

 


	12. Persuasion

The sudden appearance of six angels would make most people jump out of their skin, but Quinn wasn`t like most people.

She was outside training with the Winchesters around the back of the bunker, and was in the middle of tossing Dean onto his back and settling a knee to his chest, when the Angels arrived.

«Eh... Quinn?» She hears Sam say nervously somewhere to her left.

She gives Dean a hand and pulls him to his feet, he`s pretty tense about the new company as well.

She turns around and lets her gaze roam over the four new faces before walking towards them.

«Welcome to Kansas. I`m Quinn, Gabriel`s mate» she says calmly while giving a small bow of her head to show respect.

Gabriel smiles at her, gleaming with pride, this is the first time he`s heard her introduce herself as his _mate_ , and it sends a warmth through his entire being.

There`s a short pause before one of the Angels step forward.

«I am Adriel. This is Remiel, Zephon and Alandriel. We come at the request of your mate» he says politely. His nut brown eyes are warm and she likes him immidiately.

She nods, and gestures for them to follow her.

There`s a small seating area around the corner, she set it up earlier for just this occation.

She takes a seat beside Gabriel at the end of the table as the rest settle down, Castiel excuses himself to go talk with the Winchesters, to bring them up to speed.

 

«I`m sure you have questions. Feel free to ask whatever you like» she says to them.

Adriel is the first to speak up again. «You were the one who resurrected our brother?» he asks.

«Yes» she nods.

«How?» he asks curiously, cocking his head to the side in a very Castiel-like manner.

«The tears in The Vail made it possible for me to pull his grace through and restore it to his old vessel» she replies without hesitation.

He looks mildly impressed.

«You have powers of healing then? Unusual for a war-goddess is it not?» he asks, it`s clear that he means no offense and is merely curious. She smiles a little at that.

«I suppose it is a little unusual, but I possess the skill non the less» she says.

«Have you ever healed an angel before?» he asks, and this time the others are giving him strange looks.

She studies him for a moment before answering.

«I get the feeling that you`re after something spesific. So why don`t you tell me what you really want».

He exchanges looks with his brothers, then nods.

«My mate, Daria. She`s sick. She caught an illness from one of the rifts. Our healers can`t help her, and she`s getting worse every day. When I heard you had resurrected an Archangel, I thought that perhaps...» he trails off.

«You thought I might be able to heal her» she concludes, he nods.

«It`s possible. I would need to examine her first» she tells him.

«Of course. May I bring her here?» he asks, looking hopeful.

«You may» she replies.

 

***

 

Adriel wastes no time and takes off immediately to collect his mate.

He returns less than an hour later, with a pale, redhaired woman in his arms.

Gabriel snaps up a lounge chair and motions for him to lay her down.

Quinn kneels beside the woman, taking her hand and gently strokes her cheek with her other hand, her skin is feverish and damp.

The angel opens her eyes halfway and reveals blodshot green eyes, full of exhaustion and pain.

She has blackened veins clearly visible around her neck and chest, as well as one of her arms.

Quinn frowns. «I never thought I`d see a case like this again» she mutters quietly.

«You know what`s wrong with her?» Gabriel asks. Quinn nods.

«Hybridium. Hybrid poison. It`s only found in certain darker dimensions, I witnessed a few cases during the God-wars outside of greece. The fighting had caused a dimensional breach and a few immortals were poisoned by it» she tells them.

«Can it be cured?» Adriel asks with a pained look.

«Yes. She needs the blood of a hybrid. Lucky for her, you`re looking at one» she states calmly and pulls a knife from her belt.

She slices her wrist and presses it against the woman`s lips while pulling gently at her chin to coach her mouth open.

It only takes a few seconds for her to get with the program and latch on to the wound, drinking greedily.

Adriel looks shocked and so Quinn explains;

«Her vessel knows what it needs even if she doesn`t, besides, my blood has a rather unique taste, a state of frenzy is not uncommon».

Adriel nods slowly, and as Quinn pulls back her hand and closes the wound, he sees the black veins fade away almost immediately.

The woman gasps, and snaps her eyes open again, fully this time.

«Adriel?» she says breathlessly.

«I`m right here, Daria» he says grasping her hand lovingly, then he looks to Quinn and asks; «Will she be alright?».

Quinn nods and says; «She`ll be weak for a time, but my blood will purge the poison from her system, and her grace will do the rest».

Adriel lets out a breath of relief and thanks her repeatedly. He actually hugs her, which takes Quinn by surprise, but she pats his back and smiles.

Then he turns to Gabriel and says with a grateful smile; «You are very fortunate to have such a mate. You`ll have my support brother, now and forever. Whatever you need».

 

***

 

Zephon and Alandriel agrees to help when they see that Adriel is on board, Remiel however is not as easily persuaded.

He says that he understands the gravity of the situation, but that he is uncomfortable with working along side a _halfbreed_ such as Quinn.

This draws a deep growl out of the Archangel.

She places a hand on her mate`s shoulder and says; «Calm down, Gabriel. It`s okay, I was expecting something like this».

Then she turns to Remiel and asks with perfect calm;

«Do you ignorantly think me weaker because of my heritage, or are you simply afraid because I am in fact more powerful than you?».

He grows angry now and produces a blade, the others take a step back, while she remains still, not at all concerned.

«Do you honestly believe that a tainted thing like you could ever defeat a pure angel in combat?» he hisses at her.

«Sweetie, put the knife away, wouldn`t want you to hurt yourself» she replies with a certain amount of amusement.

He lunges for her, and she merely raises a hand and sends him sprawling across the ground.

Gabriel leans against the wall at the corner and watches with a smirk on his face.

 _T_ _his should be entertaining,_ he thinks.

Remiel scrambles to his feet, furious, and charges towards her again.

She quickly sidesteps him and kicks him quite literally in the face, before doing a spinning maneuver to knock his blade out of his hand, catching it mid-air and pointing it right beneath his chin.

He freezes and looks at her with slight shock.

«I might be a _halfbreed_ , but don`t _ever_ presume that to be a weakness. I`ve battled Gods and monsters for _thousands of years_ , and I`ve seen more wars than you can possibly imagine. You don`t have to _like_ me, but you _will_ learn to respect me!» she states firmly and demanding.

He nods shakily after a moment, and she releases him, and he takes off immediately.

Gabriel is clapping his hands together loudly, whistling, and grinning from ear to ear.

«Nicely done babe!» he says with pride.

Quinn blushes slightly under the praise, but gives a gracious bow with amusement as their new allies starts applauding as well.

 

***

 

 

The Winchesters weren`t comfortable with having so many Angels around, naturally.

So `The God-Squad` had set up a base camp of sorts in an empty warehouse a few miles to the south.

Gabriel and Quinn had spent the last three weeks planning, discussing and doing practice runs with hundreds of Angels.

To say that it had been a test of their patience, would be a vast understatement.

There was a whole lot of arguing and misunderstandings along the way, but things were finally moving along and they`d soon be ready.

The plan was simple, spread everyone out at certain keypoints along the vail, and as Dean so elegantly put it; `Blast the damn thing with healing mojo`.

Gabriel, Castiel, Adriel, Zephon, Alandriel and even Remiel, will be mentally linked to each other, and each leader to their assigned groups.

Then they will signal everyone to start the process simultaneously.

Each player hitting their mark with all they got.

It might sound a little too easy, but the truth is that The Vail simply needs to be healed, and with a fairly large portion of Heaven`s finest on their side, they could actually pull it off.

The Oracle had been right all along,

 

// _Only an Archangel can restore the heavens, and you cannot heal The Vail without his help, nor can he without yours. You must become as one or the worlds will fall//,_

 

she finally understood that the `restore the heavens` part was the key, they needed the Angels to fully heal The Vail.

And while Gabriel had given the Angels a purpose, Quinn gave them hope and belief in that purpose.

She would teach, he would command.

They worked together as one, and neither would have gotten very far on their own.

 

***

 

 

Currently, Quinn was sitting on the roof of an old barn, a few miles east of the camp.

She just needed a few hours away, somewhere quiet, where she could actually hear herself think.

For the past few days she`d been feeling increasingly worried, and sad.

It would all be over soon, and then the Angels would return to Heaven.

She couldn`t help but worry that Gabriel might go with them. It was his family after all, his home.

And with Michael in the cage and Raphael dead, he was the only Archangel they had left.

They would need him to lead, to keep the peace.

She wanted more than anything for him to stay, but she couldn`t ask him to do that, she couldn`t be that selfish.

 _If he wants to go, I`ll let him_ , she thinks.

There was a brief flutter of wings sounding in the air, and then Adriel was sitting beside her.

They had become friends after she saved Daria, and she discovered that she truly enjoyed his company.

He was a good fighter, brave and honorable.

And he was also kind, considerate, smart and he even had a sense of humor, which was a little unusual among angels apparently.

«Everything is in place, we start at dawn» he informs her.

She nods in acknowledgement.

«Is something wrong?» he asks after a moment.

She sighs, _perceptive bastard_ , she thinks.

«It`s just... After tommorrow, it will be over. The worlds will be saved, mission accomplished, and Gabriel...» she trails off.

_He`ll be gone.._

«You`re afraid he will leave with us when this is done» he concludes.

«Yes» she says.

He frowns. «You are not bonded then?» he asks slowly.

She raises an eyebrow.

«Bonded? What, is that like marriage or something?» she asks curiously.

He smiles. «In a way, yes. If you were to bond with Gabriel, you would tie your soul to his grace, and vice versa. You would share everything, memories, emotions, thoughts, an open link to each other at all times. You would basically become one, for eternity. And the bond is sacred, it cannot be broken, which means that not even _Heaven_ would dare to separate you» he tells her with a pointed look.

She gives a small, sad smile.

She would have loved to spend forever with him, but he never spoke of bonds or eternity, probably didn`t because he knew he had to leave some day.

«Sounds beautiful.. But if it had been something Gabriel wanted, don`t you think he would`ve mentioned it by now?» she says and it pains her to say it.

«Honestly? I think my brother is too afraid to ask» he says with a wry smile and a shrug, then with a another flutter of wings, he`s gone again.

She feels a tear run down her cheek, and she wishes she could believe Adriel, that it was just nerves that had kept Gabriel from asking, but she doesn`t.

She decides that she should leave right after the main event tommorrow.

Make it easier for both of them.

 

 

 

 


	13. The Bond

Quinn appears at Gabriel`s side just before dawn.

Being the most powerful of the bunch, they were positioned at the largest rift, which stretched almost all the way to the skyline.

«There you are! I was starting to worry» he says with obvious relief.

«Are we ready?» she asks, not really looking at him.

He frowns at cold greeting.

«Yeah, we`re ready. Everything alright?» he asks concerned and confused.

«Yes. Just want to get this over with» she states.

He nods slowly, not at all convinced, but he doesn`t say anything, even though he really wants to know where she`s been all night and why she suddenly seems so distant.

Instead he closes his eyes and focuses on connecting with the other leaders,

< _almost showtime, people > _he projects and quickly receives confirmation that everyone is in place and ready to go.

 

They both place their hands on the wall, getting ready to flood it with power, Quinn gives him a quick nod to tell him to give the order.

Gabriel takes a deep breath, then signals

< _NOW! >_

 

From all around the world, every single player all released every ounce of power they had into The Vail, in a series of massive bursts of pure energy.

And it responded fiercely, sucking it all up like a sponge does water.

Tranforming before their very eyes, coming alive with renewed strength.

From a human point of view it would look something like the Northern Lights appearing all over the globe at once.

It was a breathtaking spectacle of shimmering emerald silk, engulfing the entire sky.

 

Dean and Sam were watching the whole show from a field beside the angel basecamp, where they were all set to return after the task was done.

Their jaws were pretty much on the ground at this point..

 

Quinn gritted her teeth against the strain and pushed harder as she realised that it was working.

The rifts were steadily closing and The Vail was getting stronger by the second.

There was a sound coming from mystical wall, it sounded almost like the distant clangs of an old wind chime.

 

One by one the angels started weakening and falling to their knees, as did Quinn and Gabriel.

When the last drop of power had been submitted, The Vail was fully restored, and Quinn let out a relieved and tired laugh.

 _We did it, we actually did it_ , she thought.

The worlds were safe once more..

 

And somewhere in a small cottage near Chennai, India, an old man was smiling and whispering into the empty room; «Well done, my friend. Well done».

 

***

 

The few angels that still retained enough strength to fly were tasked with collected the ones from around the world that did not.

They would be regrouping at the basecamp until they were fit to travel home, most of them would be gone by the next day.

Gabriel had just returned from retrieving a very haggard looking Castiel from the south of France.

As they touched down, Dean rushed over and took over the role as living crutch for Castiel.

«Dude, you look like Hell!» he says as he helps the angel over to a chair and sits him down.

«I assure you, Dean, I feel much worse than I appear..» he replied sluggishly, and Dean winced in sympathy.

Gabriel looks around and sees that most of the angels have been retrieved and sighs, but he soon realises that there`s one face he doesn`t see..

«Where`s Quinn?» he asks and Dean looks up at him.

«I dunno, man. She took off a little while ago, she`s probably at the bunker» Dean replies, barely finishing his sentence before a flutter of wings sounds and the Archangel is gone.

 

***

 

Dean was right. She was back at the bunker, and she was packing.

Her bag was on the bed, and she was picking out just a few items and clothes she would need, she liked to travel as lightly as possible.

She was still a little weak, but she wanted to get back on the road as soon as she could manage, away from, _everything_.

Before _he_ noticed that she missing.

 

«Going somewhere?» Gabriel`s voice sounded behind her, she froze for a moment.

 _Dammit_ , she had hoped to avoid this.

She zipped her bag shut and took a shaky breath before speaking.

«The job`s done. No need for me to stay here any longer» she says quietly.

«Were you even gonna tell me?» Gabriel asks, and there`s hurt and anger in his voice now.

She sighs defeatedly and finally turns to look at him, he looks miserable.

«The Angels are leaving, and you`re an angel. You belong with them» she says as calmly as she can and drops her gaze.

«I belong with _you_!» he argues, taking a step further into the room.

She shakes her head, still looking at the floor.

«You`re an Archangel. The last one standing. Heaven will recall you soon enough, I`m surprised they haven`t already» she says and shoves her shaking hands into the front pockets of her jeans.

«Are you listening to me _at all_? **I`m not leaving you!** » he shouts, her picture-frames on the wall and potion-bottles on the dresser rattle at the force in his tone.

«They need you, they are your family-» she starts, and he cuts her off, «Adriel will lead them!»

 

She growls in frustration and then blurts out; « **We`re not bonded!** »

Gabriel startles, like she just slapped him.

His eyes widen and his mouth drops open.

«What..?» he manages weakly.

She rubs her face with one hand and breathes deeply.

«We`re not bonded, so you have no _reason_ to deny them when they ask, and they _will_ ask» she says quietly, and her voice is shaking a little now too, _dammit_.

«You want me to go?» he asks, he suddenly sounds so small.

For this is his worst fear, _losing her_..

She`s fighting back tears as she whispers; «Of course I don`t..»,

and before she can say anything else, the room starts to shake again.

She looks up and sees that Gabriel is _glowing._

There`s a faint fluttering sound as the tremors dies down, and her breath hitches in her chest at what she sees..

Shimmering golden light emerges from his back, rippling through the air in delicate and hypnotic movements.

Four massive, gorgeous and majestic wings slowly unfolds before her eyes.

 _He`s so beautiful_.

Each exquisite feather holding every shade of gold you could possibly imagine, and probably some you couldn`t.

And she can`t help but feel incredibly honored to be allowed to witness such infinite beauty.

The kind of beauty that could make you cry.

She doesn`t realise that she`s gaping until he clears his throat, making her meet his gaze.

There`s some degree of amusement in his eyes at her reaction, but mostly fear and vulnerability..

 

And he`s talking to her, but his lips aren`t moving, he`s _projecting,_ she realises.

« _I, Gabriel, Messenger of God, true son of Heaven, offer you my life, my love and my grace. I willingly bind myself to you with all that I am. Will you accept me?_ » he asks, a tear breaks free from his golden eyes, and she can feel how completely terrified he is of being rejected.

She lets out a shaky breath, smiling and she`s crying too when she replies;

«Always»

He smiles brightly.

Then raises an eyebrow expectantly and she suddenly realises that there`s more to this.

«Oh! Right! And I, Quinnea, huntress, daughter of War..» she stops to swallow thickly, searching for the words.

«What is mine is yours, I give it all freely. I bind myself to you, Gabriel, now and forever more. If you`ll have me?»

His grace is singing louder than ever, she can hear it clear as day, and it`s more beautiful than anything she`s ever heard in her three thousand years.

«Always» he says and rushes to close the gap between them in two strides, kissing her like his life depended on it.

Soul and grace swirling together in perfect harmony between them.

Memories and emotions transferring as he places a hand on her hip, murmuring softly in enochian.

She feels a slight burn from the touch, she looks down and sees that he`s marked her.

His handprint burned into her skin, _his claim_.

A happy and dazed smile forms on her face as she studies it with pride.

After a short moment of concideration, she places a hand above his heart, and feels heat sear beneath her fingers as she places _her_ _own_ claim.

She can actually _feel_ his immense joy as the bond is completed.

He kisses her again and sobs softly against her lips.

 _< I love you, so much, I`m so sorry I didn`t ask sooner, I was so afraid you`d say no> _he projects.

She melts in his arms and projects back;

< _I thought you didn`t want to. I thought you would leave with them, and that I`d never see you again > _

He shakes his head frantically.

< _Never, I`d_ _never_ _leave you > _

And she can feel that he means it.

 _< I love you> _she replies happily.

 

 


End file.
